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CHAPTERS 



ON 



ENGLISH METEE. 



itonOon: 0. J. CLAY aud SONS, 

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, 

AVE MARIA LANE. 

aiaggoto: 50, WELLINGTON STREET. 




leipjiO: F. A. BROCKHAUS. 
l^tto gorh: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



[AU Eights reterved.] 



CHAPTEES ON 



ENGLISH METEE 



BY 



JOSEPH B. MAYOE, M.A. 

HONOBABY FELLOW OF ST JOHN's COLLKGE, CAMBRIDGE. 



SECOND EDITION 
REVISED AND ENLARGED. 



CAMBRIDGE: 

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 

1901 



PKINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY 
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 



PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

My attention was first drawn to the exact study of English 
prosody many years ago in lecturing on Shakespeare to classes 
both male and female. As a rule I found those who attended 
the classes devoid of any but the vaguest idea of metre ; and I 
knew of no book which I could recommend to them as giving 
an entirely satisfactory account of the matter, the books of the 
highest authority seeming to me to start from assumptions 
which were inconsistent with the practice of English poets from 
the time of Shakespeare downwards. I endeavoured to point 
out these inconsistencies and, at the same time, to give the 
outline of what I thought to be a truer system, in three papers, 
which were read before the London Philological Society be- 
tween the years 1874 and 1877. The substance of those papers, 
greatly modified and expanded, appears in the chapters which 
follow, numbered i. to v. viil. xi. ; the remaining chapters are 
altogether new. 

My own views have naturally undergone some change in 
the interval which has elapsed since the first paper was written. 
For instance, I have now no doubt (see examples from Shelley 
in p. 242) that we must recognize the substitution of tribrachs 
for iambs in English blank verse, a point which was still an 



VI PREFACE. 

open question to me when pp. 71 and 75 were written. I am 
now less disposed to agree with Dr Abbott in his attempt 
to explain away Shakespeare's trisyllabic feet by the process 
of slurring, than I was when I wrote my paper on Macbeth 
(pp. 174 foil.). On the other hand, I have given in p. 200 the 
reasons which have finally decided me to adopt Dr Abbott's, 
rather than Mr A. J. Ellis's view, in reference to the feminine 
caesura, of which I had spoken doubtfully in my earlier paper. 
As far as I know, these are the only points in which any dif- 
ference of view will be found ; should there be any others, a 
reference to the Index will at once enable the reader to 
compare together all that is said on any given subject. 

There is another matter on which I should like to add a 
word to what is stated in the text. Prof. H. Sidgwick, who 
has most kindly looked over some of the proof-sheets, suggests, 
in reference to the chapter on Metrical Metamorphosis, that 
it would be well to make it more clear to the reader, that 
it is not a mere verbal question, whether, for instance, a line 
should be called an iambic with initial truncation or a trochaic 
with final truncation ; and asks me how I would propose to 
answer " the real and interesting aesthetic question, whether 
the type (i.e. the normal line) so far predominates in the 
reader's mind, that he feels the particular line (which departs 
from the normal line) rather as a variant than as a distinct 
change of type," To this I would reply (1) that my chief 
aim will be accomplished, if I can get my readers to observe 
the different metrical effects of the lines which they read, 
and to describe them in clear and definite terms, and that 
this will not be interfered with, even though we should allow 
of alternative expressions for the same fact ; (2) that a certain 
number of variants have now become established, as it were, by 
universal consent, such as the feminine iambic and truncated 



PREFACE. VH 

trochaic ; (3) that when a question arises about the scansion of 
a line which cannot be referred to any such recognized sub- 
class, it is not ordinarily a matter of indifference which of two 
possible explanations we shall adopt, but that we have first 
to compare such a line with the other lines of the poem in 
which it occurs, and see whether we can discover any similar 
irregularities, as for instance in regard to Milton's use of the 
double trochee (p. 38); and must reject any theory which will 
not suit all such irregular lines. (See the discussion in pp. 86, 
87, 92 on the metre of Christahel.) (4) that in cases where 
nothing can be absolutely decided from a comparison of the 
rest of the poem or of other similar poems, the choice between 
two possible explanations of a verse must in the last resort rest 
with the educated taste of the reader. It is not enough simply 
that the ear should be naturally sensitive to th-e harmonies of 
sound ; the ear must have been accustomed to the particular 
metre or rhythm, or it will not be able to appreciate it rightly. 
No doubt it is possible that, even so, differently constituted 
minds and ears may be differently affected by the same break or 
change in the rhythm. In such a case I should be inclined to 
say with Home Tooke ' truth is what each man troweth ' ; the 
accurate explanation will be that which accurately expresses 
each man's own feeling of the rhythm of the line. 

I have given my book the title of Chapters on Metre in 
order to show that it makes no pretence to completeness. I have 
not attempted to deal, otherwise than incidentally, either with the 
aesthetic or the historic side of metrical investigation. I have 
barely touched on such matters as alliteration and rhyme : I 
have not ventured to pronounce an opinion as to the origin and 
early history of our metres. What I have endeavoured to do is 
to ascertain by a process of induction the more general laws of 



vni PREFACE. 

our modern metre, and to test the results on a variety of in- 
stances. I wish very much that some competent scholar would 
take up that historical side of the question which I have left 
untouched. To mention only one part of it, I do not know 
where to find a really careful investigation of the growth of 
accentual Latin verse. It would have been admirably done by 
the ever-to-be-lamented Munro, if he had chosen to turn his 
attention to it. I remember hearing long ago a paper read by 
him before the Cambridge Philosophical Society, in which he 
drew attention to the importance of the accent as colouring 
the rhythm even of the quantitative verse of the Augustan 
age. Thus he contrasted the rude sing-song of the soldiers at 
Caesar's triumph, 

Ecce Caesar nunc triumphat qui suhegit Gallias, 

where the verbal accent corresponds throughout with the stress 
of the quantitative metre, and such a line as that of Virgil, 

Itdliam fdto prdfugus Lavinia venit, 

where the poet studiously opposes the accent to the metre. 

What may be the earliest specimen of pure accentual verse 
in Latin I am unable to say. We are told by Christ {Metnk der 
Griechen und Romer, p. 402) that Bitschl considered the mill- 
song of the Lesbian women (dXet, fivXa, aXei) to be an early 
example of accentual metre in Greek. In Latin the Instruction's 
of the barbarous Commodianus (flourished about the middle of 
the third century) is usually named as the first specimen of 
accentual verse, but his metre is almost as indifferent to accent 
as it is to quantity. The example quoted by Dr Donaldson in 
his Latin Grammar is a poem on two of the Diocletian martyrs 
commencing 

IHiae qtuiedam riferuntwr Bj6mae natae fiminae. 



PREFACE. IX 

Whatever may be the date of the earliest existing specimen, 
there can be no doubt that the feeling for quantity had long 
before died out among all but the learned few, and that such 
verses for instance as the irregular Phalaecians addressed to 
Alexander Severus (Lamprid. c. 38) would be ordinarily read 
as accentual iambics corresponding to the hendecasyllabic of 
modern Italian, our own 5-foot feminine. 

Ptdchrum \ quod m\des en\se no8\trum re\gem 
Quern Sy\ru'm, te\tulit \ propa\go pul\chrum, 
Vena\tus fa\cit et \ lepus \ come\s%cs 
De quo \ contin\uum \ capit \ lepo\rem. 

Hence I am unable to place implicit confidence in the assertion 
of Zamcke, that the origin of this metre cannot be traced 
further back than the Romance poets ^ 

In conclusion I have to return my hearty thanks to Mr 
A. J. Ellis for allowing me to make free use of various papers 
on metre, to Dr Furnival and Prof. Paul Meyer of Paris for 
much helpful information, and to Mr Roby and Prof. Sidgwick 
for valuable criticisms and suggestions. 

October 1886. 



^ 'Der filvffiissige Iambus, ah Zehnsilbler oder Eilfsilbler erscheinend, ist nicht 
vom Alterthiiine uiis uberliefert...Als selbststandiger Rhythmus erscheint der Vers 
nirgends (i.e. neither in Latin nor in Greek),' p. .S. See below Appendix A. 



Note to the Second Edition. 

The second Edition has been revised throughout and en- 
larged by the addition of a Chapter on the Metrical Systems 
of Dr Skeat and Mr Robert Bridges, originally addressed to the 
Philological Society ; a Chapter on Shelley's Metre, originally 
read before the Shelley Society ; and a Chapter on the English 
Hexameter, which appears here for the first time. 

I cannot send forth this new edition without paying a last 
tribute to my old friend Prof. Henry Sidgwick, to whom I am 
deeply indebted not only for the interest which he took in 
my metrical studies, but also, far more, for the very great 
assistance I received from him during the last year of his life 
in preparing for the Press the Second Part of the Exploratio 
Philosophica of our common friend, John Grote, who was also 
his own predecessor in the Chair of Moral Philosophy at 
Cambridge. 

Hort gone, Seeley gone, Sidgwick gone — to me and to 
many others, how dimmed is the glory of the Cambridge that 
we knew ! 

om nep ^yAAoon reNeei ToiHAe kai an^p^n. 

October 1901. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 
Introduction. 

PAOE 

A scientific treatment of the subject of metre is possible and is desirable. 
Scientific analysis must be kept apart from historical research and 
aesthetical criticism. Distinction between prose and verse. Use of 
classical terms in reference to English metre defended. Scansion by 
feet the basis of scientific analysis. Principles of metrical classifica- 
tion. Questions which the metrist has to answer . . • 1 — 11 

CHAPTER II. 

A ntiquarian A -priorism. 

Dr Guest's metrical system is based on the assumption that our modern 
verse should conform to the laws of Anglo-Saxon metre. His normal 
iambic line, with its two sections and its fixed pauses, is not recog- 
nized by our greatest poets, who place their stops where they like, and 
substitute freely trochees, pyrrhics, spondees and trisyllabic feet for the 
iamb. Dr Guest's theory compels him to condemn what is universally 
approved and approve what is universally condemned . . . 12 — 33 

CHAPTER III. 

Logical A-priorism. 

Dr Abbott starts with the true normal line, but is slow to see how it 
is modified and varied in the practice of the poets. Through his 
unwillingness to admit that other feet can be substituted for the iamb 
he is driven to disyllabize monosyllables, to lay stress on unaccented 
syllables, and to allow of extra-metrical syllables in almost any part 
of the line 34—46 



xii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

AeatJietic Intuitivism. 

PAGE 

Mr J. A. Symonds despairs of metrical analysis and would substitute 
an aesthetic analysis in its place. His various inconsistencies. His 
challenge to scan certain lines accepted 47 — 53 

CHAPTER V. 

Naturcd or A-posterioH System. 

Mr A. J. Ellis recognizes that the normal heroic line is rare in practice ; 
that the number of syllables is often greater than ten, and the number 
of accents generally less, but sometimes more, than five. The stress 
denoted by the accent is not always the same. Illustrations from 
Milton and Byron. For the purpose of full analysis Mr Ellis dis- 
tinguishes nine degrees of force, length, pitch, weight, and silence, 
giving altogether forty-five varieties of stress, and exemplifies these in 
some verses of his own. Limit of variation from the normal weak- 
strong (iambic) foot. Further illustrations from Milton. Criticisms 
on Mr Ellis's remarks, especially in reference to the limit of substitution 
of other feet for the iamb. Mr Masson finds pyrrhic, trochee, spondee, 
anapaest, dactyl, tribrach, cretic, amphibrach, antibacchius in Milton. 
His instances of the last four disputed. Mr Keightley on Milton's 
obligations to Italian verse, especially as regards certain uses of the 
trochee, and the hypermetric syllable at the caesura . . . 54 — 77 



CHAPTER VI. 

Metrical Metamorphosis. 

Difiiculty of determining the metre of separate lines apart from the poems 
to, which they belong. This arises partly from substitution of one 
foot for another, partly from the addition of a hypermetrical syllable, 
at the end in the case of iambic and anapaestic metres, at the 
beginning in the case of trochaic and dactylic; partly from initial 
truncation in iambic and anapaestic, and from final truncation in 
trochaic and dactylic metres. More rarely we find examples of internal 
truncation. It is owing to this principle of metamorphosis that four- 
foot iambic and trochaic metres so readily pass into one another, 
and that anapaestic lines are sometimes mistaken for amphibrachio. 
Metres may also be disguised by an unmetrical division of the lines. 
Symbols used for scansion 78 — 95 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIU 

CHAPTER VII. 

Two recent Metrical Systems. 

PAGE 

'Milton's Prosody' by Mr E. Bridges. His account of the earlier metre 
of Paradise Lost, and of the later metres of Paradise Eegained and 
Samson. Objections to his use of the word elision and to his 
scanning of the choruses in Samson. His doctrine of the Miltonic 
' fictions.' His principle, that metre is determined by the number 
of stresses irrespective of the number of syllables, tested by his own 
dramas, ' The Feast of Bacchus ' and ' Nero.' Dr Skeat's accent 
groups, 'Tone,' 'Ascent,' 'Cadence,' 'Extension.' His classification 
of the varieties of the five-foot iambic line is arbitrary and incom- 
plete. He considers that the amphibrach is the only trisyllabic 
foot used in English, denying the use both of the dactyl and the 
anapaest 96 — 120 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Naming and Classification of Metres. Illustrations from. Tennyson. 

Examples of trochaic verses, truncated, complete, and hypermetrical, 
varying in length from two to eight feet. Substitution of iambs or 
dactyls for trochees. How the different trochaic lines are combined in 
poems. Iambic metres, truncated, complete, and hypermetrical, varying 
in length from two to seven feet. Substitution of trochee, anapaest, 
and dactyl for iamb. How the different iambic lines are combined in 
poems. Anapaestic metres, truncated, complete, and hypermetrical, 
varying in length from one foot to eight feet. Verses divided into 
sections with occasional internal truncation. Substitution of iamb for 
anapaest. How the different anapaestic lines are combined in poems. 
Difficulty of distinguishing between truncated anapaestic and truncated 
dactylic. Dactylic metres rare. Poems in mixed metres, regular or 
irregular ; e. g. trochaic and iambic, iambic and anapaestic, trochaic 
and dactylic. Classical metres, hendecasyllabic and alcaic . . 121 — 145 

CHAPTER IX. 

Naming and Classification of Metres. Illustrations from 
the Hymn-hook, 

Explanation of the metrical terminology of the Hymn-book. Iambic 
stanzas of four lines classed according to the length of the lines, 
with special varieties noted. Iambic stanzas of more than four lines 
similarly classed. Trochaic, dactylic, and anapaestic stanzas similarly 
divided and classed. Mixed metres : iambic and trochaic, iambic and 
dactylic, iambic and anapaestic, trochaic and dactylic, trochaic and 
anapaestic. A riddle 146 — ^156 



xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

Blank Verm of Surrey and Marlowe. 

PAGE 

Harshness of Surrey's rhythm. He freely admits a trochee or anapaest in 
any foot, and has often two trochees or anapaests in succession. His 
commonest pause is after the 4th syllable, but we also find a pause 
after the Ist, 2nd, 3rd and 9th syllables, and he not unfrequently 
omits either the middle or final pause or both. Pauses which divide 
the feet have a harsh effect when the preceding syllable is accented. 
Uses feminine ending, broken lines and Alexandrines. Gascoyne's 
rule as to iambic metre. Marlowe more regular in accentuation 
than Surrey. Sometimes begins with a monosyllabic foot. Unusual 
pronunciation of proper names. Corrupt lines. He occasionally 
disyllabizes monosyllables, especially those which contain an r or I. 
Anapaests are common in any part of the line. Dactyls occur in the 
1st and 4th feet. Trochees are common in the 1st foot, and in the 
2nd and 3rd after a stop, but otherwise rarer than in Surrey. His 
pauses are usually at the end of the line and after the 4th or 6th 
syllable, but he also has the harsh dividing pause after an inverted 
accent 157—167 

CHAPTER XI. 

Shakespeare^s Blank Verse. Macbeth. 

Syllabic variation of metre (1) by way of defect, in fragmentary and de- 
fective lines. Instances of the former in rapid dialogue, and also at the 
beginning, middle, and end of longer speeches. The latter may be 
explained by change of pronunciation, or by a significant pause, or by 
intentional lengthening of a long syllable. Syllabic variation (2) by 
way of excess, in extra-metrical syllables at the end of the line or after 
the caesura, or by superfluous syllables, sometimes elided or slurred, 
sometimes forming trisyllabic feet, or Alexandrine verses. Accentual 
variation by substitution of pyrrhic, spondee or trochee. Mr Ellis re- 
fuses to admit the Common Section, seeing no reason for completing 
Shakespeare's short lines. He considers that the recognition of the 
trisyllabic foot renders unnecessary the assumption of slurring, as well 
as of an extra-metrical syllable in the middle of the line . . 168 — 193 

CHAPTER XII. 

Shakespeare^s Blank Verse. Haniht. 

Examples of pyrrhic, spondee and trochee in all parts of the line. 
Feminine ending used more frequently in the less poetical passages. 
The extra syllable is often a monosyllable. The admission of the 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV 

PAGE 

trisyllabic foot will not account for all the cases of feminine caesura. 
Anapaests are found in all the feet, dactyls rarely except in the first. 
Doubt as to the existence of Alexandrines in Hamlet. Eemarks on 
defective and fragmentary lines 194 — 205 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Modern Blank Verse. Tennyson and Browning. 

Comparison of Milton, Tennyson and Bi'owning in regard to the position 
of the pauses, the use of the feminine ending, and the substitution of 
other feet for the iamb. A favourite effect of Tennyson's is where 
the word ends on the short syllable of the iamb, giving a general 
trochaic or feminine rhythm. Double trochee occurs occasionally in 
Tennyson, and often in Browning. Examples of trisyllabic feet, 
tribrach as well as anapaest and dactyl. Peculiar effect of pause 
after inverted accent. Appropriateness of rhythm to the thought. 
Unstopped lines. Other examples of unusual rhythm. Excellences 
and defects of Browning's rhythm 206 — 218 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Shelley's Metre. 

His text very corrupt. Classification of his poems under four heads. 
Iambic, Trochaic, Anapaestic, Dactylic. Licenses as to Pause, 
Extra-metrical Syllables, Truncation, introduction of trisyllabic feet 
into disyllabic metre. Inversion of Accent, Excess or Defect in the 
number of Accents, spondee, cretic, bacchius, molossus, pyrrhic, 
tribrach, Besolution of monosyllables, coalescence of disyllables. 
Aesthetic effect of these variations. Peculiarities of Shelley's rhymes. 
Stanzaic irregularities. Alliteration. Traces of the influence of 
Southey, Pope, Wordsworth, Milton, Shakespeare, Coleridge. Com- 
parison between the utterances of Beatrice in the Cenci and Cassandra 
in the Agamemnon. Emendations of some of Shelley's lines . . 219 — 259 

CHAPTER XV. 

The English Hexameter. 

Development of the Elizabethan hexameter. Discussion as to whether 
it should be governed by quantity or accent. Earlier trial of the 
hexameter in other countries. Disuse of the English hexameter 
after the 16th century. Its reappearance at the end of the 18th 
in imitation of Voss and Goethe. How it differs from the hexameter 
of the ancients. Hexameters of Coleridge, Southey, Hookham Frere, 



Xvi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Longfellow, Whewell, Clough. Merits and defects of the latter: his 
unfortunate experiment in the quantitative hexameter. The best 
English hexameters are those by Hawtrey and Kingsley. Matthew 
Arnold and Tennyson on the Hexameter. Later examples by 
Calverley and T. Ashe. Mr W. J. Stone's defence of the quanti- 
tative hexameter. Examples of the Pentameter by Whewell and 
Clough and Mr W. Watson 260—293 



APPENDIX A. 

Mr H. Nicol and Prof. Paul Meyer on the Old French decasyllabic 
metre. Abstract of Zamcke's essay on the 5-foot iambus of Lessing 
and Schiller 294—301 



APPENDIX B. 

Technical Terms of Greek and Roman Prosody .... 302 — 304 

Index 305—308 



Corrigenda. 

p. 71, 11. 21, 22, transfer 'bacchius' and 'anti-bacchius'. 

p. 157, 1. 14, for ' p. 58 ' read 'p. 51'. 

p. 191, 1. 23, omit bracket after 'dev'Hsh'. 

p. 228, 1. 4 up, for 'iambic' read 'iamb'. 



CHAPTER I. 



Introductory. 



There are persons to whom system generally is a bugbear, 
and to whom systems of prosody are especially distasteful. 'The 
object of rhythm and metre,' they argue, 'is to please the ear. 
If they fail to do this, they fail of their object, and nothing 
is gained by showing that they are conformable to certain rules 
of grammarians. The final authority rests, not with the gram- 
marian, but with those for whom the poet sings.' It may be 
answered that, just in the same way, the primary object of 
the musician and painter is to afford pleasure to the eye and 
ear. If they fail in this, they too fail in their object. But 
none will deny the importance of theory and rules in these 
branches of art, both for training the artist in the means by 
which he may attain his end, and for educating the hearer 
and spectator to appreciate a higher and more refined order of 
beauty. Or we might take our illustration not from an art, 
but from a science, such as botany. The use of botany is to 
enable us to describe in exact and definite terms the different 
characteristics of plants, to arrange and classify all that is 
known about them, and to reduce the various phenomena to 
their simplest types and laws. So the use of prosody is to 
supply a technical language by which to describe each specimen 
of verse brought before us ; to distinguish the different kinds of 
verse, to establish a type of each, by reference to which 
existing varieties may be compared, and finally to state the 
laws of composition which have been observed by those whom 
the world recognizes as poets. Then from this we may draw 
practical rules of art for the poet or the reader. 

M. M. 1 



2 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

No doubt, when the subject matter of the science or art is 
one with which our affections are more or less intimately 
connected, there is a natural shrinking from what may appear 
to be a cold-blooded analysis of that which excites our admi- 
ration or love. At best, we think we can gain nothing by 
it. Like the speaker in ' Maud ' we are inclined to say 

a learned man 
May give it a clumsy name, 
Let him name it who can, 
Its beauty would be the same. 

But we are moreover suspicious of any attempt to explain 
how it is that a poet produces his results. We prefer to accept 
the poem as a pure inspiration wakening up an answering 
inspiration in our own minds. We regard the use of analysis 
as a perfidious attempt to rob us of inspiration and leave us 
in its stead a studied expertness in certain tricks of art. But 
this is really a total misconception of what is aimed at in 
metrical analysis. It only deals with the outer vesture of 
poetry; it teaches us to look more closely at this, to notice 
its forms and colours and ornaments, just in the same way as 
a very slight knowledge of botany enables us to observe the 
distinguishing beauties of ferns or other plants. It may also go 
on to show how the inner spirit of poetry reveals itself in 
its outer vesture, how rhythm and metre correspond to varying 
moods of feeling and so on, but it makes no pretence to explain 
the creative inspiration of the poet ; on the contrary it enlarges 
our idea of its operation and thus tends to enhance our admi- 
ration and delight, just as the teaching of botany or drawing not 
only quickens the eye for the external features of a landscape^ 
but vastly increases the imaginative and emotional enjoyment 
of natural scenery. 

Connected with this dislike to the application of scientific 
terms and methods to poetry, as injurious to its spirit and feeling, 
there is the dislike sometimes felt by persons of fine ear to 
the mechanical process of scanning. Partly they despair of 
explaining by rule, or representing by a scheme, the rich undu- 
lation of sound of which the ear is cognizant. This is an objec- 
tion to which all science is liable. As Bacon says, " subtilitas 



INTRODUCTORY. 3 

naturae subtilitatem argumentandi multis partibus superat." 
And partly there is an aristocratic confidence in their own 
poetic instinct, and a suspicion and contempt for knowledge 
slowly gained by training and effort. Yet, we all know, science 
the tortoise quickly outstrips the hare intuition. Singing by 
ear is no match for singing from notes. Refined aesthetic 
sense or tact may judge instinctively of the quality of this 
or that verse, as melodious or the opposite, but this tact passes 
away with the individual who possessed it. Science translates 
quality into a quantitative scale ; rudely, it is true, at first ; 
but each step gained is a gain for mankind at large, and forms 
an ever new vantage-ground for the investigations of each 
succeeding generation. 

We may assume then that a scientific treatment of the 
subject of metre is possible and is desirable. The next question 
is, how far has this desirable end been already achieved ? 
I shall endeavour to answer this in the following chapters by 
a careful examination of the metrical systems which possess 
the highest authority and are most in esteem at the present 
day ; and in order to make my criticisms more generally in- 
telligible, I shall commence with a brief sketch of what I hold 
to be the natural or truly scientific system, 

A subject like prosody lends itself to three different kinds of 
treatment in consequence of its connexion with history on the 
one side and aesthetics on the other. One of the dangers which 
the prosodian or metrist has to guard against is the mixing 
up of these different methods of treatment. Thus Dr Guest 
in his History of English Rhythms sets before himself as his 
main object, to trace out the development of one rhythm or 
metre from another, and to exhibit the varieties of rhythm 
which characterize each poet and each period, a very interest- 
ing and important branch of inquiry. But this simple inquiry 
into matter of fact is rendered almost valueless by the arbitrary 
assumption that the greater part of the development of English 
metre has been illegitimate. The rule of verse laid down by 
our Anglo-Saxon ancestors is treated as a rule of faith, binding 
on their unfortunate successors to the end of time. No right 
of private judgment is allowed either to poets or to readers. 

1—2 



4 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Verses, however pleasing to the modern ear, are denied to 
be metrical at all, or else twisted and mangled to suit the 
usage of five centuries ago ; just as a modern sentence might 
be condemned as ungrammatical, because it could not be 
explained on antiquarian views of syntax. A confusion of a 
different kind is found in other writers on metre (of whom Mr 
J. A. Symonds may be taken as an example), who deprecate any 
attempt to name or count the feet in a verse, provided its 
rhythm satisfies their ear and is in harmony with their idea 
of the poet's feeling. No good can be done until we clear our- 
selves of these confusions. The first thing which the metrist 
should set himself to ascertain in regard to any verses submitted 
to him is the existing ri, the actual phenomenon ; what is 
the normal line of the metre ? how does each particular verse 
depart from this type ? Then he may go on to investigate 
the TTolov, the melody and expressiveness of the verse, and the 
means by which these qualities are attained. And lastly he 
may investigate the Tra)?, observe how any particular metre 
havS come into existence, what metrical effects each poet has 
borrowed from others, and what he has added for himself 

Treating the subject thus from the purely scientific side, 
and deferring for the present all reference to historical or aesthe- 
tical considerations, I start with the two fundamental questions, 
What is the distinction between prose and verse ? How are 
the different kinds of verse to be classified ? 

As regards the first, I suppose all would agree in saying 
that, in English, verse differed from prose in the regular 
sequence of the accent or stress. Where the stress recurs in 
obedience to a definite law, there we have verse. And the 
kinds of verae are classified according to the intervals which 
separate the accents, whether an interval of one syllable or of 
two syllables, and according as the rhythm is ascending, i.e. 
passing from an unaccented to an accented syllable, or descend- 
ing, i.e. passing from an accented to an unaccented syllable. 
We thus get the four simplest kinds of metres, ascending 
disyllabic, descending disyllabic, ascending trisyllabic, and 
descending trisyllabic : the metres commonly known as iambic, 
trochaic, anapaestic, dactylic. 



INTRODUCTORY. 6 

Here I am aware that I enter on debated ground. Mr A. J. 
Ellis, in the course of his great work on English pronunciation, 
proposes to consider what light is thrown upon the pronunciation, 
of Shakespeare's time by an examination of the rhymes, the 
accents, and the number of syllables admitted in his verse. He 
asserts that " the whole subject of English metres requires re- 
investigation on the basis of accent." "The old names of measures 
borrowed from Latin prosodists are entirely misleading, and 
the routine scansion with the accent on alternate syllables is 
known only to grammarians, having never been practised by 
poets." 

There are three points here for discussion : Are the classical 
names to be given up ? Is the routine scansion unknown to 
poets ? Is it, in any case, of use in the interests of education 
and science ? 

I cannot myself see that the use of the terms ' iambic,' etc., 
is misleading. No one imagines them to imply that English 
metre rests on a quantitative basis. The notion of quantity 
altogether seems to me rather a puzzle to English people ; they 
know what a long vowel is, but I doubt whether they would 
recognize a long syllable such as ' strength ' where the vowel 
was short. Again, it cannot be denied that there is to the ear 
a strong resemblance between the rhythm of the English 
accentual, and the Greek quantitative iambic and trochaic, and 
it is certainly more convenient to speak of iambic than of 
ascending disyllabic. The only other way in which I could 
imagine the term misleading, would be if anyone were to 
suppose that the rules of the Greek metre were applicable in 
the English ; but this is so easily corrected that it hardly 
seems worth noticed 

As to the second point, whether the routine scansion has 

1 I find that Mr Ellis objects to the Classical nomenclature, rather in the 
interests of Classical, than of English metre. His remarks on the above passage 
are as follows. " It seems to me that the use of the classical names has arisen 
from our not understanding them, that is, not having the feeling for what they 
expressed, and that it is essential to our comprehension of the classical metres 
to dissociate their terminology from that of modern metres which have nothing 
in common with them." For a fuller discussion he refers to his Practical 
Hints on the Quantitative Pronunciation of Latin. 



6 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

ever been kDown to poets, i.e. whether poets have ever kept 
strictly to the metre in their practice, it surely cannot be 
denied that some of our poets (Chaucer among them) have 
in some respects approached the routine scansion ; but 1 am not 
concerned here either to maintain or to deny that th^y have 
done so. What I would affirm is that it is impossible for the 
routine scansion to die out, as long as there are children and 
common people, and poetry which commends itself to them. 
And I would also venture to say that it ought not to die out as 
long as there are scientific men who will endeavour to bring 
clearness and precision into our notions about poetry as about 
other things. Routine scansion is the natural form of poetry 
to a child, as natuj-al to it as the love of sweet things or bright 
colours: it is only through the routine scansion that its ear 
can be educated to appreciate in time a more varied and com- 
plex rhythm. No one who knows children can doubt this. 
If example is wanted, it may be found in Ruskin's Praeterita, 
p. 55, where the author speaks of a prolonged struggle between 
his childish self and his mother " concerning the accent of the 
"of in the lines 

Shall any following spring revive 

The ashes of the urn ? 

"I insisting partly in childish obstinacy, and partly in true 
"instinct for rhythm (being wholly careless on the subject both 
" of urns and their contents) on reciting it with an accented of. 
" It was not till after three weeks' labour that my mother got the 
" accent lightened on the o/*and laid. on the ashes, to her mind." 
But any parent may test it for himself in children who have 
a taste for poetry. Whatever effort may be made to teach 
them to observe the true verbal accents and the stops, and 
attend to the meaning and logic of the line, they will insist 
on singing it to a chant of their own, disregarding everything 
but the metrical accent, and are made quite unhappy if com- 
pelled to say or read it like prose. And, after all, is this 
not the right sense of the /jbfjviv a€i8e, and ' arma cano ' ? is 
it not the fact that the earliest recitation of poetry was really 
what we should consider a childish sing-song ? This becomes 
still more probable when we remember that music and dancing 



INTRODUCTORY. 7 

were frequent accompaniments of the earliest kinds of poetry, 
the effect of which would undoubtedly be to emphasize and 
regulate the beats or accents of the line ; just as in church- 
singing now the verbal accent is ignored, if it is opposed to 
the general rhythmical character of the verse. 

But independently of the natural instinct of children to 
scan, it seems to me that we need the division of the line into 
metrical feet as the simple basis of all description and compari- 
son of metres. The foot is the unit which by repetition consti- 
tutes the line ; the syllable is a mere fraction, and no index to 
the metre. On the other hand, to assume a larger unit, such as 
Dr Guest's section spoken of in the next chapter, or the double 
foot, the fierpov, implied by the terms trimeter and tetrameter, 
is contrary to the feeling of English verse, and the latter is 
altogether unsuitable for the description of our heroic metre, 
which in its simplest form has five equal beats, and in no way 
suggests two wholes and a half As regards the name 'foot,' for 
which Mr Ellis would substitute 'measure,' it seems to me a 
matter of little importance ; ' measure ' no doubt expresses its 
meaning more clearly than the metaphorical ' foot,' but the 
latter is in possession, while the former is generally understood 
in a wider and more abstract sense. 

I am in favour then of the scanning by feet, on the ground 
that it is both natural and necessary, and also that it is scientific. 
I should further urge it in the interests of practical education. 
One good effect of the old plan of making all boys write Latin 
verses was to give men some idea of versification and rhythm, 
which women seldom have, unless gifted with specially good 
ears. It is probable that in time to come Latin verse writing 
will be less and less required, and it is at all events desirable 
that a purely English education should enable people to enter 
into and appreciate the beauties of English verse. For this 
purpose, boys and girls should be practised in observing how 
the mechanical pendulum swing of scansion is developed into 
the magnificent harmonies of Milton ; they should be taught 
to notice and explain the difference in rhythm of Dryden 
and Pope, of Cowper arid Wordsworth, of Keats, and Shelley, 
and Tennyson, and Browning. 



8 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Having thus stated how far I disagree with what I believe 
to be Mr Ellis's meaning, I will state where I should go along 
with him. I altogether object to putting a poet into the bed of 
Procrustes. If the foundation of Milton's verse is, as I believe, 
the regular five-foot iambic, yet it seems to me absurd to say 
that we must therefore expect to find five regular iambics in 
every line. Again, I can sympathize with Mr Ellis in his 
objection to the classicists who would force upon us such terms 
as choriambic and proceleusmatic to explain the rhythm of 
Milton. I do not deny that the effect of his rhythm might 
sometimes be represented by such terms; but if we really 
imagine that by their use we shall be able to explain the music 
of his poetry, we are attempting an impossibility, to express in 
technical language the infinite variety of measured sound which 
a genius like Milton could draw out of the little five-stringed 
instrument on which he chose to play. 

Retiiming now to our simplest genera, the disyllabic and 
trisyllabic ascending and descending metres, how are we to 
classify the varieties of these ? First we have the unmixed 
species of each differing in the number of feet alone ; and of 
these we have two subspecies, one in which the normal line 
consists of so many perfect feet and nothing more, the other 
where the law of the metre requires either the addition or the 
omission of a short unaccented syllable at the beginning or 
the end of the line. Of addition we have an example in what 
is called the * anacrusis ' (back stroke), what Dr Abbott has 
called the 'catch,' a name given to an unaccented hyper- 
metrical syllable preceding the first foot of the line, as in 
the old Latin Saturnian or its English equivalent the six-foot 
trochaic, 

^ The ) Queen was | in her | parlour | eating | bread and | honey | ; 

and again in the so-called feminine ending, by which is meant 

' This might be otherwise explained as made up of a three-foot iambic Hne 
with feminine ending, followed by a three-foot trochaic. However, it may 
serve for illustration. Other examples of anacrusis will be found in the chapter 
on Classification of Metres under the head Trochaic. 



INTRODUCTORY. 9 

an unaccented hypermetrical syllable following the last foot of 
the line, as in 

Let's dry | our eyes | and thus | far hear | me Crom(weU. 

The omission of short syllables at the beginning or end of a 
line is known as ' truncation.' It occurs most frequently in 
trisyllabic metres. Thus in 

Slow|ly and sad|ly we laid | him down | , 

the first anapaest is represented by a monosyllable ; and in like 
manner in 

Merrily | merrily | shall I live | now | 

the last dactyl is represented by a monosyllable. 

Then we have the mixed species, in which the law of the 
verse requires (not merely permits) the mixture either of the 
ascending and descending, or of the disyllabic and trisyllabic 
metres. 

In the chapter on the metres of Tennyson I have endeavoured 
to arrange all the varieties of his verse under the above heads ; 
I will here only add a word as to the means by which one 
particular kind of iambic verse, the heroic, is varied. The 
normal rhythm is most clearly seen where the accents are 
perfectly regular in number and in position, where the end 
of each foot coincides with the end of a word, and the end of 
the line coincides with a pause in the sense, especially if there 
is no clashing between the length of the syllable and the 
position of the accent. Such a normal line is 

And swims | or sinks | or wades | or creeps | or flies |. 

Of course a series of such lines would be intolerably monotonous 
to all who have passed out of the stage in which sugar is the 
most exquisite of tastes, and the most beautiful of faces that 
which presents the sharpest contrast of red and white. It was 
to avoid such monotony that the rule of the caesura was in- 
troduced in Greek and Latin verse ; that we find great masters 
of rhythm, such as Virgil and Milton, so careful to vary 
the position of their stops; that the accents are multiplied, 



10 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

diminished, or inverted, and the number of syllables lessened 
or increased. Later on I propose to discuss the limits of such 
variation. 

The business then of the metrist in regard to any set of 
verses submitted to him is, first, to ascertain the general type 
of the verse, five-foot iambic, or whatever it may be, and further 
to state whether it is metrically complete, or incomplete, owing 
to final or initial truncation, or more than complete, owing to 
anacrusis or feminine ending; in technical language, whether 
it is acatalectic, catalectic, or hypercatalectic. He has then to 
point out in each particular line, how far there has been a 
departure from this general type in respect to the position of 
the accents or the number of syllables, as by the substitution of 
a trochee or an anapaest for an iamb, or, say, by the insertion 
of an extra-metrical syllable in the middle of the line. He has 
to notice the continuity or discontinuity of the rhythm as 
determined by grammatical stops or other pauses ; and the 
smoothness or roughness of the rhythm as determined not only 
by the smoothness or roughness of the separate syllables, the 
crowding of consonants and so on, but by the relation of the long 
and short syllables to the normal metrical accents, the grouping 
of syllables into words, or phrases equivalent to a word, and 
the division of the words into feet. He has also to notice 
any special artifices employed by the poet to give harmony 
to his verses, such as alliteration and rhyme. Lastly, in 
reading the poem, the metrist has to pay due regard to the 
rhetorical importance of each word or phrase without allowing 
this to obscure the more properly metrical effects above de- 
scribed. It may be well to illustrate my meaning, so far as 
it can be done at this stage of our analysis, by examining the 
following line of Marlowe's, 

See where | Christ's blood | streams in | the firimament | . 

This is a five -foot iambic with trochaic substitution in the 1st 
and 3rd feet, and spondaic substitution in the 2nd. There is 
a rhythmical pause after the 1st, 4th, and 5th syllables, and 
strong rhetorical emphasis is laid on the 3rd and 5th syllables, 
Christ's and streams, which are also very long and connected by 



INTRODUCTORY. 11 

alliteration. In compensation the 6th and 7th syllables are 
as short and weak as possible, and form one phrase with the 
last word. 

Having thus briefly stated what are my own views on the 
subject of metre, I shall proceed in the chapters which follow 
to examine the metrical systems of others, especially those of 
Dr Guest and Dr Abbott. 



CHAPTER II. 

ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 

Dr Guest on English Metre. 

Dr Guest's learned work on the History of English Rhythms 
was published in 1838, Though the book had become very 
scarce, it was not reprinted during the author's lifetime ; and 
it is therefore uncertain how far it can be considered to repre- 
sent his final view on the subject of which it treats. Since his 
death a new edition has appeared (in the year 1882) under 
the very competent supervision of the Cambridge Professor of 
Anglo-Saxon, who has made many corrections in detail, but 
who probably did not feel himself at liberty to do what, I 
think, was required, and recast it throughout. If the book 
was to be reprinted, and no doubt it possesses permanent value 
in its copious illustrations, it appears to me that it would have 
been better to throw it into two separate treatises, one on the 
history of the Early-English Language and Literature, and 
the other on the history of English Metre down to the 16th 
century, omitting altogether the reference to later metres. I 
will not take upon me to say that, even as to our earlier 
metres, Dr Guest would always have been a trustworthy guide. 
I observe that in many instances his scanning of Anglo-Saxon 
or Early-English metres is objected to by Professor Skeat, and 
Dr Guest himself owns (p. 525) that he is unable to understand 
the nature of Chaucer's versification, as to which the editor 
says in a note ' thanks to the patient researches of Professor 
Child and Mr Ellis and the grammatical rules of Dr Morris, 
the scansion of Chaucer is now a tolerably easy matter.' 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 13 

My object, however, in these chapters, is not to trace the 
historical development of English metres from their first be- 
ginning, but to ascertain the laws of versification which have 
been observed by the English poets generally daring the last 
three hundred years, and to lay down a simple and natural 
system of scansion. It is from this point of view that I find 
Dr Guest's book so entirely misleading and unsatisfactory ; and 
as it comes out now under the apparent sanction of one of our 
chief authorities, and is also referred to in the Cambridge 
Shakespeare (vol. I. p. xvii.) as the best guide to the under- 
standing of Shakespearian versification, I feel bound to state 
plainly my reasons against it. I shall therefore endeavour to 
show that the system there laid down is not only most per- 
plexing for the ordinary reader, but that it insists on a rule 
which has been obsolete for centuries, that it condemns, as 
unrhythmical, verses which, I will venture to say, the great 
majority of educated men find perfectly satisfying to their 
ear, that it approves what to them appears mere discord, and 
throws together lines regular and irregular, possible and im- 
possible, in the most bewildering confusion \ 

Dr Guest holds that our modern English metres should 
conform in the main to the rules of the Anglo-Saxon verse ; 
his account of which may be thus summarized. " Our Anglo- 
Saxon poems consist of certain sections bound together in 
pairs by alliteration. The pure elementary section cannot 
have more than three, or less than two, accents. Each couple 
of adjacent accents must be separated by not more than two 
unaccented syllables ; but two accents may come together, if 
the place of the intervening syllable is supplied by a pause, 

1 The view stated in the text is shared by Dr Schipper (Englische Metrik 
p. 2) ; " Dr Guest macht die alteste Form englischer Poesie, namlich die 
alliterierende Langzeile, oder vielmehr die rhythmische Section derselben, zur 
Basis auch der spateren unter ganz anderen Einfliissen sich entwickelnden 
englischen Verskunst und zieht aus dieser Voraussetzung dann uatiirlich ganz 
falsche Schliisse. Eine weitere Folge davon ist, dass es so verworren angelegt 
und durchgefiihrt ist, dass man sich nur mit grosser Miihe, selbst wenn man 
von seinem Gedankengange sich leiten liisst, hindurchfinden kann, und so ist 
deun das Werk, trotz der grossen Fiille von Material, die es bietet, als ganzlich 
veraltet und unbrauchbar zu bezeichnen." 



14 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

called the sectional pause. When the accent is separated by 
one syllable, the rhythm is called common measure; when by 
two, triple measure. A section may begin (and similarly it 
may end) with an accented syllable or with not more than 
two unaccented syllables. There are three pauses which serve 
for the regulation of the rhythm, final, middle and sectional. 
The two former are necessary and essential, the third is ex- 
ceptional. The final pause occurs at the end of a verse, the 
middle pause divides it into two sections, the sectional pause 
is found in the middle of one of these sections. As a general 
rule we may lay it down that the final and middle pauses ought 
always to coincide with the close of a sentence or clause. We 
never meet with a grammatical stop in the middle of a section. 
The sectional pause seems to have been only used before words 
on which it was intended to throw a powerful emphasis" 
pp. 144 — 161. 

I proceed to test this doctrine of the sections, and I will 
begin first with the final pau se. Is this observed by our best 
poets ? Dr Guest himself confesses that it is not (p. 145). 
" There never was a greater violation of those first principles, 
"on which all rhythm must depend, than placing the final 
" pause in the middle of a word. Yet of this gross fault Milton 
" has been guilty more than once." And he cites P. L. 10, 580, 
as an example, 

Ophion, with Eurynome, the wide- 
Encroaching Eve perhaps, had first the rule 
Of high Olympus. 

" Another serious fault is committed when the final pause 
separates a qualifying word from the word qualified, e.g. 

And God created the great whales, and each 
Soul living, each that crept. P. L. 7. 391. 

To judgment he proceeded on the accursed 
Serpent, though brute. P. L. 10. 163. 

" Or when it separates the preposition from the words governed 
by it, or the personal pronoun from the governing verb, as : 

Read o'er this, 
And after this, and then to breakfast with 
What appetite you have. H. VIII. 3. 2. 201. 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 15 

Let it suffice thee that thou know'st 
Us happy, and without love no happiness." P. L. 8. 620. 

This "serious fault," it may be observed, is one to which 
Shakespeare became more and more prone in his later years. 
In the earliest plays the sense very commonly closes at the end 
of the line ; in the later his structure is more broken, and his 
lines frequently close with unaccented syllables connected in 
sense with what follows. 

As to the rule that the end of the verse, the ' final pause,' 
shall always coincide with the end of a sentence or clause, I find 
on looking through the first fifty lines of the P. L., that, in 
Pickering's edition, 34 out of the whole number have no final 
stop, while 10 close with a comma, and only 6 with a more im- 
portant stop. So again as regards the rule of the 'middle pause. 
Put in more familiar language, this means that there should 
be a stop, or at all events a break in the line, at the end of the 
second or third foot, or in the middle of the third or fourth. 
This is at any rate a rule easy of observance ; if it is really 
essential to the rhythm, there is no excuse to be made for the 
poet who neglects it. And so in fact Dr Guest feels. He 
quotes (p. 149) with reprobation the lines 

Unbridjled sen;sual|ity | begat ' . 

Thy an|ger un|appeas|able | still ra(ges. 

And in p. 185, after granting that "the adoption of foreign 
metre brought into our language many verses which neither 
had, nor were intended to have, the middle pause," he goes on 
to say that " our poetry quickly worked itself free from such 
admixture," and therefore, " when we meet (four-accent) verses 
" such as the following : 

Guiding | the fi|ery- wheel |ed throne | , 
The cher|ub Con|templa|tion | , 

" I do not see how we can treat them otherwise than as false 
" rhythm ; or, if the middle pause be disowned, at least require 
" that they should not intrude among verses of a different 
"character and origin. If the poet make no account of 
" the pause, let him be consistent and reject its aid altogether. 
" If he prefer the rhythm of the foreigner, let him show his- 



16 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

" ingenuity in a correct imitation, and not fall back upon our 
" English verse when his skill is exhausted. Both foreign and 
" English rhythms are injured by being jumbled together in this 
*' slovenly and inartificial manner." Again, in p. 560, speaking 
of Milton's use of the heroic verse, it is said, " He varied the 
" flow of the rhythm and lengthened the sections ; these w^ere 
" legitimate alterations ; he split the sections and overlaid the 
" pauses, and the law of his metre was broken, the science of his 
" versification gone." 

It may be worth while to add a few more examples of the 
non-observance of this middle pause, by way of showing how 
little it has been regarded by our best poets, and how far it is 
from being essential to the beauty of the rhythm. Thus in 
Ben Jonson's famous lines we have 

That makes | simpli|city | a grace | 
Than all | the adiil|terie8 | of art | 

I should have added Milton's line 

And ev|er a|gainst ea|ting cares | 

but I observe that Dr Guest marks it as having a pause after 
against (p. 101). It is at any rate an instance in point, as 
showing that Milton did not think himself bound to break the 
sense in the middle, any more than at the end of the line. 
In the first fifty lines of P. L., I find that 22 are printed 
without a stop in the central portion of the line, embracing 
all the syllables at which the middle pause might occur. In 
the first fifty lines of Pope's Essay on Man, there are 23 lines, 
and in Tennyson's Morte d' Arthur 26 out of 50, without a 
central stop. I do not mean to say that in all these lines 
there is precisely the same pause after each of the central 
syllables or words, but there are many of them in which 
the poet seems to have aimed at a uniform unbroken rhythm, 
perhaps by way of contrast to the broken rhythm of preceding 
lines. 

Such are : 

I may assert eternal Providence, 

And justify the ways of God to man. P. L. I. 25. 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 17 

Or aak of yonder argent fields above. Pope, Ess. i 41. 

A little thing may harm a wounded man. 

Rose up from out the bosom of the lake. Morte (T Arthur. 

So much for the rule that there must be a stop in the 
middle, and at the end, of a line. I now proceed to consider the 
converse rule, that there must be no s ectional sto p, i.e. no stop 
except at the middle and the end. Here too Dr Guest has to 
confess that the practice of the poets is against him. " A very 
favourite stop with Shakespeare was the one before the last 
accented syllable of the verse. Under his sanction it has become 
familiar, though opposed to every principle of accentual rhythm." 
Among the examples quoted of this objectionable rhythm is one 
certainly of the most exquisite lines in the English language, 

Loud, as from numbers without number, sweet 
As from blest voices uttering joy. P. L. 3. 345. 

Even the correct Pope sins in the same fashion, e.g. 

And, to their proper operation, still 

Ascribe all good, to their improper, ill. Essay, ii 58. 

Force first made conquest, and that conquest, law. iii 245. 

And Dryden in Ahs. and Ach. 

Thee, Saviour, thee the nation's vows confess, 
And, never satisfied with blessing, bless. 

and Tennyson in the Gardeners Daughter, 

Divided in a graceful quiet, paused, 

And dropt the branch she held, and turning, wound 

Her looser hair in braid. 

Dr Guest, in spite of his theory, does not seem to object 
much to the stopfoUovving the 8th syllable of the heroic line, 
as in Milton P. Z. 1. 10. 

Or, if Sion hill 
Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook, that flowed 
Fast by the oracle of God ; I thence 
Invoke thy aid. 

Nor to the stop after the first accent, when it falls on the 
2nd syllable, as in Pope's 

Say first, of God above, or man below, 

What can we reason, but from what we know? 

M. M. 2 



18 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

But he speaks of the stop after an accented first syllable, 
or an unaccented second, following an accented first syllable, as 
being alike inadmissible. 

Of the former we have not only the magnificent examples 
in Milton ; 

Death his dart 
Shook, but delayed to strike, . though oft invoked. P. L. 11. 491. 
Grasping ten thousand thunders, which he sent 
Before him, such as in their souls infused 
Plagues ; P. L. 6. 830. 

but even in Pope it is not uncommon, e.g. 

Know, nature's children all divide her care. Essay, iii 43. 
Where, but among the heroes and the wise ? Essay, iv 218. 

Of the latter Milton makes a scarcely inferior use in the 
lines 

And now his heart 
Distends with pride, and, hardening in his strength, 
Glories. P. L. 1. 571. 

On Lemnos, th' Aegean isle : thus they relate 
Erring: P. L. 1. 746. 

but Pope too admits this stop without scruple, provided the 
pause is not so great as to complete the sense. 

Passions, though selfish, if their means be fair, 

List under reason and deserve her care. Essay, ii 96. 

In showing what Draconian justice Dr Guest deals out to 
the poets who offend against his a priori rules, I do not mean 
to deny that, in general, a more pleasing rhythm is obtained by 
a pause in the middle or at the end of a verse, than by one 
immediately after the first or before the last syllable ; but the 
very fact that such a rhythm is usually avoided makes it all the 
more effective, when the word thus isolated is felt to be weighty 
enough to justify its position, as in the examples from Milton. 
I hardly think the rhythm is justified in the lines which follow, 
taken from Mr Swinburne's Marino Faliero : 

Dedication St. ii, 

Pride, from profoundest humbleness of heart 

Bom, self-uplift at once and self-subdued 

Glowed, seeing his face whose hand had borne such part. 



p. 18, 



p. 98, 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 19 



It does not please thee then, if silence have 
Speech, and if thine speak true, to hear me praise 
Bertuccio ? Has my boy deserved of thee 
111? 

How these knaves, 
Whose life is service or rebellion, fear 
Death ! and a child high-born would shame them. 

If 
Death seems so gracious in a great man's eyes. 
Die, my Lord : 



p. 117, 



Let there be night, and there was night — who says 

That? 

Nor now, nor then, nor ever now need that 

Be. 

Dr Guest continues (p. 156) "our poets sometimes place 
a stop after the third syllable, but never I think happily." As 
an instance he quotes 

What in me is dark 
Illumine, what is low raise and support. P. L. 1. 22. 

Milton has this three times in his first ten lines, and even 
Pope has it four times in ten lines {Essay, I QQ — 74). It is also 
common with Tennyson. 

I have thought it worth while to add these instances from 
Pope, because Dr Guest is accustomed to refer to him as a model 
of correct versification. Thus he ends his chapter on the stops 
with the words " When we see how nearly the freedom of 
" our elder poets approached to license, we may appreciate, in 
" some measure the obligations we are under to the school of 
" Pope and Dryden. The attempts to revive the abuses, which 
"they reformed, have happily, as yet, met with only partial 
"success" (p. 157). We may compare with this what is said 
in p. 529, the meaning of which will become apparent as we 
proceed : " The rhythm of Pope and Dryden differed from 
" Milton's in three particulars. It always counted the lengthen- 
"ing syllable of the first section; it admitted three syllables 

2—2 



20 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

" only in the second foot of the abrupt section ; and it rejected 
" the sectional pause." Milton's practice is stated just before : 
" he did not always count the lengthening syllable of the first 
" section. An abrupt section was lumished with a foot of three 
" syllables — the first section always, the second in all cases but 
" those in which the first section had a lengthening syllable 
"which was counted in the verse. The pausing section 7 p. 
"was sometimes admitted as his first section, and is some- 
" times found lengthened." [The Cimmerian darkness of the 
last sentence had better be cleared up at once ; the rest will 
explain itself as we go on. By ' pausing section ' Dr Guest 
means a section in which a pause takes the place of an un- 
accented syllable. His 'section 7' is of the form bAbAbbA 
(A standing for accented, b lor unaccented syllables). Hence 
' 7 p.' means that the second unaccented syllable is represented 
by a pause (giving the form bA-AbbA), as in Milton P. L. 1. 
253, which Dr Guest scans 

A mind | not \ to be changed | : by place ] or time | 

the pause after mind, together with the monosyllable not, repre- 
senting the 2nd foot. 

A pausing section is lengthened when an unaccented syllable 
is added at the end, as in P. Z. 10. 71. 

On earth | these \ thy transgres|sors : but \ thou knowst | 

According to Dr Guest's system the monosyllables these and 
but, with the preceding pauses, stand for the 2nd and 4th feet ; 
and the last syllable of transgressors is superfluous, a feminine 
ending of the first section.] 

In p. 531 other faults of Milton's verse are pointed out. 
" The verbal accent is often disregarded and the same word 
" variously accented even within the compass of a few lines." 
" Milton's passion for variety too often endangers his metre. 
" Not only do his pauses" (i.e. the places where Dr Guest thinks 
there ought to be pauses, at the middle and end of the line) 
"divide portions of the sentence, most intimately connected 
" together, but frequently we have periods ending in the midst 
" of a section, and sometimes immediately after the first, or 
" before the last syllable of the verse." If beauty is thus 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 3:1 

procured, " it is a beauty beyond the reach of Milton's metre, 
" a beauty therefore which he had no right to meddle with. 
" Versification ceases to be a science, if its laws may be thus 
" lightly broken." 

We have already found that, in regard to the position of 
stops, even our least adventurous poets have asserted the right, 
which Dr Guest would deny them, of breaking the sense at 
any point in the line. We proceed to examine the other alleged 
divergences between the metres of Milton and Pope. The 
former, it is said, did "not always count the lengthening 
syllable of the first section." By this it is meant that Milton, 
as he occasionally introduces a feminine ending of the line, e.g. 

That durst | dislike | his reign | and me | ijrefer(ring, 

SO he admits a superfluous syllable after the section or half-line. 
I have no wish to deny that lines may be found even in our 
latest poets, which are evidently composed of two sections, and 
in which the first and last foot of either section are allowed all 
the privileges of the first and last foot of the line. Such lines 
are Tennyson's long trochaics treated of in another chapter. 
Whether Milton ever regarded his heroic verse as made up of 
two sections may be doubted. Shakespeare was, I think, so far 
conscious of the section, as occasionally to make it a pretext for 
introducing an extra syllable. Mr A. J. Ellis does not grant even 
this. He considers that all cases which have been explained 
on this principle, are really examples of trisyllabic feet. And 
no doubt, such an explanation is possible in by far the largest 
number of instances. The question is really complicated with 
two others, in which I think Dr Guest takes an erroneous view. 
He regards it, not as a rare exception (such as we find in 
Chaucer) but as a recognized and established variety of the 
heroic line for a single accented syllable to take the place of 
the iambic foot at the l^eginning of a section, or after what he 
calls the 'sectional pause.' To a section which thus commences 
with an accent he gives the name of the ' abrupt section'; and 
he thinks that it makes no difference to the regularity and 
correctness of the verse, whether this first accent is separated 
from the second by one unaccented syllable or by two. The 



22 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

other question is as to the admissibility of trisyllabic feet. 
As Dr Guest distinctly recognizes the 'triple measure,' one 
would have thought there could have been no doubt on this 
subject, but it would seem from several passages that, except 
in what he calls the tumbling metre, he would desire to confine 
it to his * abrupt section.' If he is forced to admit its use 
elsewhere, he indemnifies himself by denouncing it as licen- 
tious ; but in general he seeks to explain away such examples 
on the principle of elision. Thus in p. 37 he supposes believe, 
betray, belike, to lose their first syllable in the lines 

Let pi|ty not | be helie\ved there | she shook | Lear, 4. 3. 31. 

To betray \ the head|y hus|band8 rob | the ea(sy 

B. Jons. Cat. 3. 3. 

O belike \ his maj|esty | hath some | intent | R. III. 1. 1. 49. 

Instances of two vowels compressed into one are given in 
p. 41. 

Knowing who | I am | as I | know who | thou art | P. R. \. 355. 

'H.aM flying | behoves | him now | both oar | and sail | 

P. L. 2. 941. 

Of riot I ascends | above | their loft|iest tow'rs | P. L. 1. 498. 

Without I media\tor whose | high of|fice now | P. L. 12. 239. 

Instances of short vowel elided before m, in p. 47. 

Legit\imate Ed|gar I | must have | your land | Lear, 1. 2. 15. 

His mind | so 'ven\omoudy \ that burn|ing shame | Lear, 4. 3. 47. 

before ng p. 52. 

With telling \ me of | the mold|warp and | the ant | 

1 H. IV. 3. 1. 148. 

This oath | I vnlling\ly take j and will | perform | 

3 H. VI 1. 1. 201. 

before ^ or r pp. 55, 57. 

A third | more op\ulent than | your sisjters? Speak | Lear, 1. 1. 87. 
Will but I remember | me what | a deal | of world | R. II 1. 3. 268. 

Other examples of elision are 

Her del\icate cheek | it seemed | she was | a queen | Lear, 4. 3. 13. 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 23 

Needs must | the ser|pent now | his cap\ital bruise | P. L. 12. 383. 
Your hor\rible plea|sure here | I stand | your slave | Lear, 3. 2. 18. 

Of the last line it is said (p. 63), "It is clear that horrible 
is a disyllabic but whether it should be pronounced horrhle or 
horrihl' may be doubted : the latter is perhaps the safer." 

Recourse is also had to ' synaloepha,' as in the following : 

iPas|sion and ap|athy : and fflo\ri/ and shame | P. L. 2. 564. 
Aniguish and doubt | and fear| : and sor\row and pain | P.L.I. 558. 
No ungrate\ful food|: and food | alike | those pure i P. L. 5. 407. 

The three following were quoted by TjTwhitt to show that 
the heroic verse admitted three syllables in any one of the first 
three feet. 

Ominous \ conjec'ture on | the whole | success | P. L. 2. 123. 
A pil\lar of state | deep j in his front | engrav(en P. L. 2. 301. 
Celest|ial spi\rits in bond|age nor | the abyss j P. L. 1. 658. 

Dr Guest says on this (p. 175), "if a critic of Tyrwhitt's 
" reputation did not know that ominous, pillar, and spirit were to 
" be pronounced om'nous, pill'r, and sprit, can we fairly expect 
"such knowledge to flash, as it were by intuition, on the unin- 
" structed reader ? Of late years, however, the fashionable 
" opinion has been that in such cases the vowel may be pro- 
" nounced without injury to the rhythm. Thelwall discovered 
"in Milton an appoggiatura or syllable more than is counted in 
" the bar, and was of opinion that such syllables constitute an 
" essential part of the expressive harmony of the best writers 
" and should never be superseded by the barbarous expedient 
"of elision. He reads the following verses one with twelve and 
" the other with thirteen syllables ! 

Covgring the l)each and blackgning the strand. Dryden. 
Ungrateful offering to the immortal powSrs. Poix). 

" There are men entitled to our respect whose writings 
" have, to a certain extent, countenanced this error. Both 

1 I give Dr Guest's division of the pause ; by the bar he denotes that the 
three lines. By the colon he marks preceding syllable bears the accent, 
what he considers to be the middle 



24 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

"Wordsworth and Coleridge use certain words, as though they 
" still contained the same number of syllables, as in the time 
"of Shakespeare. Thus they make delicate a dissyllable, yet 
" would certainly shrink from pronouncing it deVcate." He adds 
that the pettiness of the delinquency cannot be pleaded in de- 
fence of this sacrifice of rhythm, for " if a short and evanescent 
syllable may be obtruded, so may a long one." It is with 
pleasure we read Prof. Skeat's note on the above : " On the 
'contrary I think that the pettiness of the delinquency may 
"be pleaded.... The true rule concerning trisyllabic feet is 
" simply this, that the intrusive syllable should be as short and 
" light as possible. A good example is Pope's favourite line 
The free|zing Tan|ais through | a waste | of snows | 

" Here the intrusive syllable is the short a in Tanais and 
" is very light and short, as it should be. It adds a great beauty 
" to the verse, as may easily be perceived by reading Tannis and 
"comparing the results ^" Prof. Skeat thinks the author must 
have subsequently abandoned his theory, 'because,' he says, 
' examples of trisyllabic feet abound in the later part of the 
book.' And he cites from p. 217 

Write I them togeth|er : yours | is as fair | a name | 

Jul. Cues. 1. 2. 144. 

Me I from attemp|ting : where|fore do I | assume | P. L. 2. 450. 
Let I me not think | on't: frail|ty thy name | is wom(an 

Hamlet, 1. 2. 146. 

But these all come under the category of the abrupt 
section, in which Dr Guest has always admitted the triple 
measure. Thus in the very line, in which he denies Tyrwhitt's 
right to find a trisyllabic second foot, he has himself no diffi- 
culty in recognizing a trisyllabic fourth foot, because it follows 
an initial accent, i.e. a monosyllabic foot commencing a section : 
A pillar | of state : deep | in his front | engra(ven. 

We do however find some instances which cannot be thus 
explained as in pp. 166, 225, 239 and 240 : 

That I invin|cible Samjson : far | renowned | 

Like j the first I of a thun|der : show'r 1 and now | 

^ Cf. also the editor's note on p. 51. 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 25 

In I their trip|le degrees] : relgions to which | 
Shoots I iiivis|ible virjtue : e'en | to the deep | 
With, I impet|uous recoil| : and jar|ring sound | 
We may bold|ly spend| : upon | the hope j of what | 
In electjion for] : the Eo]man empery ] ^ 

Then comes the question, whether the evidence adduced in 
support of a superfluous syllable at the end of the first section, 
may not be explained on the hypothesis of such a trisyllabic 
foot in the middle of the line ; whether in fact there is any- 
thing more to be said in its favour than for the extra syllable 
which Dr Abbott admits before a pause in any part of the 
Shakespearian line (S. G. § 454), or the superfluous unem- 
phatic syllable which he allows in any foot {S. G. § 456). I 
have treated of Shakespearian usage in another chapter. As 
to Milton, I venture to say that, of all the numerous instances 
cited by Di* Guest of an extra syllable before the middle pause, 
there is not one which may not be more easily explained as a 
trisyllabic foot. And the great advantage of such an expla- 
nation is that it enables us to get rid of the monosyllabic foot 
and all the exceptional rules which this necessitates. For in- 
stance Dr Guest's complicated rule, " An abrupt section was 
(by Milton) furnished with a foot of three syllables, the first 
section always, the second in all cases but those in which the 
first section had a lengthening syllable which was counted in 
the verse," is exemplified in the lines 

Othjers apart] : sat ] on a hill | retired ] 
Ajges of hope]less end] : this ] would be worse ] 
Write I them togeth]er : yours ] is as fair | a name | 
Confoundled though ] immor]tal : but j his doom ] . 

How far more simple does the metrical analysis become, as 
soon as we recognize that the accentual trochee and anapaest 
are permitted alternatives for the iamb, and that the middle 
pause has no metrical effect. Marking the feet by bars, I find 
in the line 

1 I do not of course agree with Dr trochee in the last foot but one. The 
Guest's scansion of these lines, except- fifth line may be read as beginning 
ing the last two. The first four com- with trochee followed by dactyl, or 
mence with a double trochee, of which the first foot is an anapaest, the re- 
more hereafter : the third has also a maining feet iambs. 



26 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Others | apdrt | sdt on | a hfll | retfred { 

a trochee in the first and third feet ; and in 

Write them | togeth|er, yours | is as fdir | a ndme | 

a trochee in the first foot and an anapaest in the fourth. 

But Dr Guest not only admits a monosyllabic foot, when 
it is followed by two unaccented syllables (which we have seen 
to be his way of describing trochee followed by iamb), but 
also when it is separated by one unaccented syllable from the 
next accent. This is in fact his first rhythm (p. xvii.), which 
he denotes by the formula AbA, and of which he cites as 
examples : 

Ja|el who | with hos|pita|ble guile | . p. 210. 

Which I by God's i will : kind | and calm|ly blows | . p. 211. 

With I the love | juice : as j I bid ] thee do | . p. 215. 

For I the cool shade| : thith|er hasltily got | . p. 215. 

As I throw out | our eyes| : for brave | Othel|lo. p. 232. 

So I by for|mer lec|ture : and | advice | . p. 233. 

It is scarcely credible that any educated person could have 
read these lines without suspecting some error ; but such is 
the force of erroneous theory, that Dr Guest could actually 
thus misread lines which are correctly given as follows, both in 
Professor Skeat's notes, and in any editions which I have been 
able to consult. 

Jael I who with j i?jhos|pitab|le guile | Sams. Ag. 989. 

Which by | God's will | full kynd | and calmjly blows | . Gascoyne. 

With the I love juice | as I j did bid | thee do | 

M. N. D. 3. 2. 36. 

For the | cool shade | him thith|er hast|ily got | F. Q. l 2. 29. 

As to I throw out | our eyes | for brave | Othel(lo 0th. 2. 1. 36. 

So by I my for|mer lec|ture and | advice | Hamlet, 2. 1. 64. 

These are not by any means all the misquotations noticed 
by the editor. Where the lines are rightly given, they are 
frequently misscanned ; or else they are mispronounced or mis- 
divided or were never meant to be complete verses. A very 
small fraction remain which are probably corrupt, or in any 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 27 

case are so exceptional, that it is absurd to base a theory of 
metre upon them. I give examples of each class, with Dr G.'s 
scansion. 

p. 209, 

vive ! le roi I : as | I have banked | their towers | . 

Here vive ought to be read as a disyllabic, as is shown by 
Dr Abbott, S. G. § 489. 

Several of the instances given contain exclamations, which 
may be either extra-metrical, as p. 250, 

O ) ye Gods | ye Gods | must I | endure | all this | 

or may be lengthened or repeated at pleasure, as in p. 211, 

Tut! I when struck'st | thou: one | blow in | the field 

I this learn jing : what | a thing j it is | . 

Others are intended to be fragmentary, as in 211, 

Nev|er I nev|er I : come | away | away | . 
The scanning is in fault in pp. 234, 235, 

See i him pluck | Aufid|ius : down | by the hair | 
which properly begins with a trisyllabic foot. 

See him pluck | Aufidjius | down by | the hair | 
and 

What I an al|tera|tion of honjour has | 

where alteration has really five syllables and the line should 
be divided 

What an alt|eraltion | of ho nour has | . 

The same unfortunate theory has converted five-foot iambics 
into Alexandrines, as in p. 249, 

Hath I he asked | for me| : know | you not | he has | 

p. 292, 

1 knew I not which | to take| : and what I to leave, | haj! 
Bound I to keep life | in drones]: and idjle moths|? No|! 

The first of these lines should be divided 

Hath he | asked for | me know | you not j he has j 



28 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

In the 2nd and 3rd we have extra-metrical exclamations ab- 
surdly forced into the lines; indeed the 2nd is printed as 
prose in the Globe edition. 

p. 250 

We'll I along | ourselves | : and meet | them at | Philip|pi 
Vir|tixe as I I thought |: truth du|ty so | enjoin |ing. 

The former verse may either be read with an initial ana- 
paest, or the first syllable of along disappears (see Abbott § 460). 
The latter commences with a trochee and anapaest, unless we 
suppose with Dr Abbott that the 2nd and 3rd syllables run into 
one. 

We have thus seen that Milton knows nothing of abrupt 
section and middle pause, and that the rhythmical effects, 
described by Dr Guest under these names, are easily explained 
by the fact that he admits freely trochaic and trisyllabic feet. 
We will next enquire whether he admits a monosyllabic foot 
under the guise of the ' sectional pause.' Before we can answer 
this, we must examine Dr Guest's view of the concurrence of 
accented syllables. He finds great fault with Dr Johnson for 
suggesting that sometimes the accent is equally strong upon 
two adjoining syllables, as (p. 75) 

Thus at their shady lodge arrived, h6th stood, 
Both turned. 

" Here," it is said, " every reader of taste would pronounce 
" the words stood, turned, with a greater stress than that which 
" falls on the word preceding. But these words are at least 
" equal in quantity, and Johnson fell into the mistake of con- 
" sidering quantity identical with accent." On the contrary I 
should say that every reader of common sense would feel that 
the repeated both was strongly emphatic and that Johnson was 
quite right in laying at least equal stress on the two words. 
I am glad to find the editor in his note on p. 416 refusing his 
assent to Dr Guest's dictum, that two accented syllables cannot 
come together. I think however that he is mistaken in speaking 
of the examples given in p. 281 as inconsistent with Dr Guest's 
theory, because in those examples a pause is supposed to inter- 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 29 

vene between the accented syllables and to be equivalent to an 
omitted syllable. The fact is Dr Guest, finding he could not 
get rid of all cases of adjacent accents either by the numerous 
exceptions admitted in Bk i. ch. 4, or by his theory of abrupt 
sections, bethought him of the sectional pause, as a further 
means of explaining all cases in which trochee followed on 
iamb. Thus in the line quoted on p. 295 

A mind | n6t to | be changed| by place | or time I 

he makes the accented not a monosyllabic foot, and considers 
that it may follow accented Tnind because there is an inter- 
vening pause occupying the time of an unaccented syllable. 
Similarly the line 

He spedka | let us | draw near | matchless | in might | 

takes with him the form 

He speaks \ let | us draw nearj: match|less in might | . 

We are now in a position to understand Dr Guest's remarks 
quoted above on p. 19 as to the difference between the rhythm 
of Pope and Milton. Pope, it is there said, always counted the 
lengthening syllable of the first section (i.e. ignored Dr Guest's 
sections) ; but so, as we have seen, did Milton. Pope rejected 
the sectional pause (i.e. did not follow up iamb with trochee). 
This, I grant, is much rarer in Pope than Milton, but still we 
find such a line as 

Is the I great chdin | that drdws | dll to | agree | Essay, i 33. 

which on Dr Guest's system would require a sectional pause 
between draws and all, and must be divided as follows : 

Is I the great chain | : that draws | all | to agree | 

The third distinction is, that Pope admits three syllables 
only in the 2nd foot, but the line just quoted would be an 
example of a final trisyllabic, if read with the sectional pause ; 
and in the ' favorite line ' 

The freez|ing Tan|ais through | a waste | of snows | 



30 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

we have three syllables in the 3rd foot. Compare also the 
following^ : 

Annual \ for me | the grape | the rose | renew | 
The juice | necta|reoM« and \ the bal|my dew | Essay, i 134. 
Then na|ture de|yia^e« aTid \ can man | do less | ih. 150. 
Account j for mor|al as | for natjwrai things \ ib. 162. 

To inspect \ a mite | not com|prehend \ the heaven | ib. 197. 
From the | green niy\riads in \ the peojpled grass ) ib. 210. 
For ev|er s&g\arate yet \ for evier near | ib. 224. 

If it be said, these should be slurred, so . as to make them di- 
syllables, it may be replied that, that is just what Dr Guest 
said of Milton's trisyllabic feet in the first part of his book, 
though here at the end (p. 529) he has to confess that the 
common view is the right one. 

The remaining charge brought against Milton is that he 
disregards the verbal accent. This is merely Dr Guest's ad- 
mission that his system, with all its cycles and epicycles, does 
not really accord with the facts, ov aco^ei ra ^aivofieva. He 
assumes that (except where the normal rhythm is broken 
through by the law of sections and pauses) every foot in the 
heroic measure is bound to be strictly iambic. But he laments 
that here, as elsewhere, the poets will persist in disobeying his 
laws. Their iambs are such as to defy all rules of accentuation. 
They accent the article and the preposition more strongly than 
the noun as in (p. 81 foil.) 

A third | thought wise | and lear|ned a \ fourth rich | B. Jonson. 
She was | not the \ prime cause | but I | myself | Milton, S. A. 234. 
Profaned | first by | the ser|pent by \ him first | P. L. 9. 929. 

["Here," it is said, "the pronoun requires an emphasis which 
makes the false accentuation still more glaring."] 

They give a stronger accent to the possessive pronoun than 
to the following adjective, to the personal and relative pronoun 
than to the verb, as in Fletcher's 

That I I may sit | and pour | out Tny \ sad sprite. 

1 Some might prefer to divide some of the lines differently, e.g. 
The juice | necta|reou8 | and the bal|my dew | 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 31 

["This verse of Fletcher has even more than his usual pro- 
portion of blunders. With proper accents it would belong to 
the triple measure, 

That I I may sit | and pour out ] my sad sprite | " 

I do not know how others may feel, but to me this utter 
misconception of a most beautiful line is a conclusive proof of 
Dr Guest's unfitness to write on the subject of metre.] 

So in Milton's 

Crea|ted hu|gest that \ swim th' o|cean stream. P. L. 1. 200. 

The most cruel blow is, that even Pope should be an offender 
in these respects, e.g. 

The treachjerous col|ours the | fair art | betray | Criticism, 492. 
In words | as fash|ions the \ same rule \ will hold | do. 333. 
Against | the po|et their \ own arms | they turned | do. 106. 

Now what is the real state of the case ? Do we really suppose 
that the poets were so foolish as to lay an unnatural stress on 
the most unimportant word in the line, and so destroy the force 
and meaning of the line ? Is it not plain that they intended to 
vary the ordinary rhythm by introducing an accentual pyrrhic 
followed by an accentual spondee {e.g. the treach|erous (io\\ours 
tM I fair art | betray) and that the result produced by this 
means is most satisfactory to the educated ear ? 

I think that I have said enough to show that Dr Guest, with 
all his learning, is not a safe guide to the study of metre. 
There is hardly a single rule which he has laid down, which 
is not in flat opposition to the practice of the poets of the 
last three centuries. Tried by his code, they are all miserable 
sinners, they have left undone what they ought to have done, 
and done what they ought not to have done. They know 
nothing of that which he makes the foundation of his system, 
the doctrine of the sections and pauses; they put their stops 
wherever it pleases them ; they substitute freely trochees, 
pyrrhics, spondees and trisyllabic feet for the iamb. But 
Dr Guest's theory not only condemns as unmetrical what is 
proved to be metrical by the consistent practice of the poets ; 



32 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

he is, as we have seen, equally unfortunate in admitting what 
is palpably impossible. He mistakes a verse belonging to one 
metre for a verse belonging to another metre, e.g. the five-foot, 
for the six-foot iambic, and puts under the same head verses 
belonging to different metrical systems, as in p. 198, where he 
gives, as examples of the formula bAbA : AbbAb, two lines, one 
iambic, the other anapaestic. 

Well struck | in years | : fair | and not jea|lous R. III. 1. 1. 90. 
Forthwith | how thou j oughtst | to receive | him S. Agon. 328. 

The former is no doubt difficult, but it occurs in the middle 
of a speech of the ordinary heroic verse, and unless there is very 
strong reason to the contrary, it should be treated as such itself 
Dr Abbott (*Si. G. § 480) says " it might be possible to scan as 
" follows : 

Well struck | in ye|ars, fa|ir and | not jeal(ous 

" but the Folio has jealious and the word is often thus written 
"and pronounced by Elizabethan authors." \i jealious, which 
may be compared with the archaic stupendious, is rejected, I 
should myself prefer to make the last foot a trochee, as in 
Macbeth, 5. 5. 32. 

But know I not how I to do | it. Well, | sdy, sir | 

It would then be divided as follows 

Well struck | in yejars fair \ and not | jealous I 

The line from Samson Agonistes should be compared with 
other examples of anapaestic metre in the same poem, e.g. 

Or the sphere | of for|tune rai(ses. 1. 172. 
Univer|sally crowned | with high|est prai(ses. 1. 175. 

So this should be divided 

Forthwith | how thou oughtst | to recefve (him 

Milton probably intended it to correspond to the versus 
paroemiacus, or anapaestic dimeter catalectic, which formed the 
closing line of the anapaestic system in Greek. 

The points named above, as condemnatory of Dr Guest's 
system, are selected from a very much larger number which 



ANTIQUARIAN A-PRIORISM. 33 

I had noted down in three distinct perusals of his book. I have 
thought it right to give my criticisms a permanent form, not in 
the least from a wish to depreciate the value of the author's 
work in this and other departments of English history and 
literature. On the contrary I have a most sincere respect for 
his industry and independence. I think later writers might 
have avoided some errors into which they have fallen if they had 
considered more carefully the evidence which he has accumu- 
lated. But in my opinion the book is entirely unfitted to be, 
what is still a desideratum in English education, a practical 
guide to the study of metre. 



CHAPTER III. 

LOGICAL A-PRIORISM. 

Dr Abbott on English Metre. 

Dr Guest's system of prosody is, as far as I know, original ; 
that which comes next for consideration, Dr Abbott's, is a 
modification of what may be called the traditional system. In 
its general outline, I believe this to be also the true and natural 
system, giving technical expression to the practice of the best 
writers and readers of poetry, and not setting up an antiquarian 
standard to which they are required to conform. In the 
particular form, however, which Dr Abbott has given to this 
system, he seems to me to have gone wrong in the same way 
as Dr Guest, by insisting on certain a prior-i rules, which it 
is not always easy to reconcile with the practice of the poets. 
He has the advantage over Dr Guest in starting with the true 
normal line, instead of the fictitious sections, but he is too 
much enamoured with a mechanical regularity, and makes 
too little allowance for the freedom of English versification. 

The general theory is given in the Shakespearian Grammar, 
2nd ed. 1870, % 452—515, and in the Third Part of Abbott 
and Seeley's English Lessons for English People, 1871, ^ 97 — 
150\ 

The ybo^, not the section, is there assumed as the basis of 
metre. It is defined as the smallest recurring combination 
of syllables. In English the names of feet, trochee, iambus, &c. 

1 The metrical rules laid down in the older book, for which Dr Abbott is 
solely responsible, seem to be somewhat less sweeping than those in the later 
book, in which he is a co-worker with Prof. Seeley. 



LOGICAL A-PRIORISM. 35 

denote groups of accented and non-accented syllables without 
regard to quantity. Accent means a loud stress of voice. A 
distinction is made between word-accent and metrical accent. 
Every polysyllable has at least one word-accent. The accent of 
monosyllables depends upon their collocation. The metrical 
accent, if it falls on a word at all, must fall on its principal word- 
accent, but it may also fall on a syllable which has no word- 
accent (e.g. on a monosyllable or on the last syllable of a tri- 
syllabic word such as ■men'ily). We can never have three 
consecutive clearly pronounced syllables without a metrical 
accent. Emphasis is a stress laid on monosyllables or the word- 
accent of polysyllables, for the purpose of calling attention to 
the meaning. In poetry an emphatic syllable generally receives 
the metrical accent, but we sometimes find the metrical accent 
falling on an unemphatic syllable, and followed by an emphatic 
non-accented syllable. It is rarely that all the metrical accents 
of a line are also emphatic. In reading we should allow em- 
phasis as well as accent to exert its influence. Any mono- 
syllable, however unemphatic, that comes between two un- 
accented monosyllables (this should be syllables) must receive 
a metrical accent in disyllabic metre. As examples we have 
{Eng. Less. p. loo foil.) 

Oh, weep for Adonais. TM quick dreams. 
Then tore with bloody talon tk^ rent plain. 
Spreads his light wings and in a moment flies. 
Make satire a lampoon and fiction lie. 

The difficulty which occurs to us on reading these lines is, 
how we are to make the metrical accent on the italicized syllables 
correspond to the definition of accent, " a loud stress of the 
voice." It is plain that the, in and a are about the least im- 
portant words in the lines in which they occur, and that in the 
first two lines the is intentionally prefixed to the important 
words quick and rent in order to give them additional emphasis. 
In technical language the is here a 'proclitic'; so far from laying 
any stress upon it, a good reader would pass it over more lightly 
than any other word in the lines. I am unable therefore to see 
the propriety of describing these as accented syllables, unless, 
when we use the term metrical accent, we simply mean that 

3—2 



36 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

the syllables, which are said to be metrically accented, are those 
which, if the verse were mechanically regular, would have had a 
word-accent, and to which therefore the general influence of 
the rhythm may seem to impart a sort of shadow of the word- 
accent. As far as the reading goes, accentuation on this principle 
becomes unmeaning, and the only thing to regard is emphasis, 
or the distinction between the emphatic and uuemphatic syl- 
lables. All verses will be perfectly regular as regards accents 
(or feet), but variety will be produced by the over-riding 
emphasis. This is a simple and logical view, but, as we shall 
see, it is not consistently adhered to. 

Thus in 8. G. § 457, where the question is raised, whether 
'an unemphatic monosyllable is allowed to stand in an em- 
phatic place and receive the accent,' it is stated that the 
article seems to have been regarded as capable of more em- 
phasis in Shakespeare's time than it is now ; but still attempts 
are made to explain away several of the instances in which the 
and still more a are found in the even syllables of the verse, 
and would therefore, on the mechanical principle, receive the 
accent. Thus in the line which Dr Abbott scans 

a devil | a borjn devjil on | whose na(ture, 

but which I should scan 

a devjil a | bom dev|il on | whose na(ture, 

the accent on a is avoided by assigning two syllables to born 
and one syllable to the first devil; and, in the following lines, 
it is suggested that an accented the may be avoided by the free 
admission of trisyllabic feet (both anapaest and amphibrach), 
and by giving two syllables to dead, three syllables to lightenings, 
and four to physician. 

Your breath I first kindled | the dejad coal | of war | 
Than meet | and join | Jove's light] enings I the preciir(8ors 
More needs she | the divfne | thdn the | physfc|idn | 

I do not deny that monos3'llables, in which r follows a vowel, 
are often disyllabized in Shakespeare (cf. S. G. §§ 480, 485, and 
my chapter on the Metre of Shakespeare), but I have great 
doubts as to some other monosyllables treated of in §§ 481 — 484, 



LOGICAL A-PRIORISM. 37 

and 486 ; and I think that, in the instances which follow, it was 
the desire for regularity of accentuation which prompted the 
scansion adopted, or at any rate allowed, by Dr Abbott ; e.g. in 
the line 

How in I my strength | you please | for yo|u Ed(mund, 

you is divided unnecessarily to escape a final trochee. 

To fa il in the | dispo|sing of | these chan(ces. 

Here, in order to avoid an unaccented second foot, fail is made 
disyllabic, and a supernumerary unaccented syllable is assigned 
to the second foot. 

Doth com] fort th^e in | thy sle|ep live | and flou(rish. 

The second foot should end with thee, thy is emphatic, con- 
trasting the sleep of Henry with the troubled dreams of 
Richard. 

Full fif|teen hundred | besi|des comjmon men |. 

Besides is made trisyllabic to avoid an unaccented third foot. 

Go t6 the I creating | a wh6|le trfbe | of fops |. 

Here the third foot is properly unaccented, the second is an 
anapaest ending with the second syllable of creating. 

But could I be willing | to ma|rch on ( to Calais. 
March made disyllabic, to avoid unaccented third foot. 

Of Lion I el Duke | of Clarence | the thijrd son |. 
Third made disyllabic, to avoid unaccented fourth foot. 

You and | your crd|fts y6u | have craftjed fair. 
[The line {Cor. iv. 6. 118) is incomplete ; it should run: 

You and | your crafts | you've craft |ed fair | you've brought.] 

The Go|ds not | the patric|ians make | it and | 
Gods made disyllabic, to avoid the trochee in the second 
place. 

With Tijtus Larcius | a mojst val|iant Ro(man. 

Most made disyllabic, to avoid an unaccented third foot. 

It is needless to point out the extreme harshness of 
rhythm which follows from this attempt to ignore the simple 



38 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

fact that it is not necessary for all the feet to have what is 
called in the Lessons the emphatic accent, what I should rather 
call simply the accent or stress, on the second syllable of the 
foot. But it will be noticed that in some of the lines quoted, 
the fiction of the regular metrical accent is abandoned : thus in 
More needs she | the divine | thdn the | physic |ian|, 

the accent of the fourth foot is placed on the former syllable 
than instead of on the. This irregularity comes under the head 
of Dr Abbott's License of trochee, of which he gives the following 
account (Lessons, § 138). " In the initial foot and after a pause, 
" in iambic metre, a trochee instead of an iamb is allowed. A 
" very slight pause in the dramatic and free iambic metres 
"justifies a trochee ; even a long syllable, with the slight pause 
" necessary for its distinct pronunciation, is sufficient. But some 
" slight pause is necessary, and hence it may be laid down as a 
" rule in iambic metre that one trochee cannot follow another. 
" Milton's line 

Univ&sal reproach far wdrse to bedr, 

" would be a monstrosity if read with the usual accents. It is 
" far more likely that Milton pronounced the word universdl, 
"perhaps influenced by the fact that the i is long in Latin \" 

1 As Milton uses the word ' universal ' in twenty other passages and always 
with the present pronunciation, I cannot think it at all likely that he follows 
the Latin quantity in this passage. There is only one verse (in S. Ag. 175), 
which, if taken by itself, might tolerate the long i, but taken in connexion 
with the preceding lines, it is evident that the metre is anapaestic, requiring 
short i. 

For him | I reck|on not | in high | estate | iamb. 5 

Whom long | descent | of birth j iamb. 3 

Or the sphere | of for] tune rais(es; anap. 3 

But thee | whose strength | while vir tue was \ her mate | iamb. 5 

Might have | subdued | the earth | iamb. 3 

Univer sally crowned | with high|est prai(se8. anap. 4 

As I have shown helow, the double trochee is a known peculiarity of 

Milton's verse, borrowed by him from the Italian. If however anyone finds it 

intolerable, I have no objection to treat it as a case of initial truncation. Thus 

scanned the line would run 

Uiniverlsal reproach | 
the 3rd foot being an anapaest. But, after all, it makes no difference in the 
reading. Whether we call the 1st foot a trochee or not, we can only make it 
rhythmical by pausing on the 1st syllable and giving a very strong emphasis to 
the 3rd, 



LOGICAL A-PRIORISM. 39 

Another rule is that "a trochee in the middle of a verse must 
not follow an unemphatic accent," as it does in Milton's lines 

Burned af|ter them | to the | bottom |less pit |. 
Light from | above | from the | fountain | of light |. 

The first remark which suggests itself on this, is that the 
principle of fictitious accentuation is here abandoned. The 
accent of the foot is declared to be reversed when the emphasis 
falls on the first instead of the second syllable. But if the 
metrical accent is to be determined by the real or natural stress 
given to each syllable by a good reader, it will be found necessary 
to admit other licenses besides that of the trochee. The so-called 
unemphatic accent is no accent at all in this sense of the term, so 
that we shall find ourselves compelled to admit pyrrhics on the 
one hand, and on the other hand, since two emphatic syllables 
may come together in verse as well as prose, we shall find that 
there are natural spondees just as there are natural trochees^ 
It may be granted that the use of the trochee is generally con- 
fined within the limits specified, though I should have worded 

^ To test the frequency of these irregular feet in Shakespeare, I have been 
carefully through Macbeth, and I find there 175 spondees in all, distributed as 
follows : 20 in the first foot, 60 in the second, 19 in the third, 23 in the fourth, 
and 53 in the fifth. Of these 31 follow trochees, 75 follow pyrrhics, 40 come 
after a pause, and 29 are continuous after a long syllable. As examples of what 
I call spondees, I would mention the foot made up of the last syllable of an 
iamb and the first of a trochee, e.g. 

Would cre|a(e 8oZ|diers make | our womjen fight | 

that made up of an emphatic monosyllable and the first syllable of a trochee, 

e.g. 

Sit, iDor\thy friends | ; my lord | is ofiten thus | 
Promised | no less | to them;. TMt trust\ed home 

or of two emphatic monosyllables, 

Why do I you show | me this? | a fourth! Start, eyes! | 

especially where the emphasis is required to give the right sense, as 

But screw | your cou|rage to | the 8tick|ing place | 
Who tcrought \ with them | and all | things else | that might j 
Making | the green | one red, 
or for the sake of antithesis, e.g. 

That which | hath made | them dnmk \ hath made | me bold \ 
Lest our | old robes \ sit eas|ier than | our new |. 



40 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

the rule about the pause differently, and said that the trochee 
was admissible everywhere, but was naturally preceded by a 
little pause to take breath before pronouncing a strongly 
emphatic syllable ; but there is no such stringent and absolute 
law as to constitute any exception a ' monstrosity.' Indeed the 
double trochee can scarcely be called a rarity in Milton, cf 

Present | thds to | his Son | aiidi|bly spake | P. L. vii. 518. 
Over I ffsh of | the sea | and fowl | of the air | P. L. vii. 533. 
By the | waters | of life | where'er | they sat | P. L. xi. 77. 

It is also found in Spenser, as in the beautiful line praised 
by Leigh Hunt, 

As the I g6d of | my life |. Why hath | he me | abhorred]? 

F. ^. I. 3. 7. 
So Tennyson in the Coming of Arthur: 

F^lt the I Ifght of I her eyes | Into \ his life |. 

For other instances I may refer to Dr Abbott himself {S. G. 
§ 453) and to Dr Guest's English Rhythms, pp. 238, 240. Dr 
Guest even treats the verse commencing with the double trochee 
as a recognized variety of the ten-syllable iambic ^ Authority 
apart, it seems to me that the rhythm of such lines as the 
following is satisfactory to the ear, and would not be improved 
by the alternative given in italics : 

brdvest, greatest, and best ; a king of men. 
the brave, the great, tJie good; a king of men. 
endless sorrow, eternity of woe. 
undying pain, eternity of woe. 

Besides the theoretical objections which have been stated to 
Dr Abbott's view of accentuation, a practical difficulty arises in 
applying it to educational purposes. In the Preface to English 
Lessons it is said that the object of the chapters on Metre is 
practical utility, to teach the pupil how to read a verse so as to 
mark the metre, without converting the metrical line into 
monotonous doggrel. If the pupil's metrical exercise were con- 
fined to dividing a line into feet and marking the emphatic and 
unemphatic syllables, neglecting the metrical accent altogether, 

^ See also below, ch. v. p. 76. 



LOGICAL A PRIORISM. 41 

the task is simple. But the admission of the trochee compli- 
cates matters. Even Dr Abbott hesitates {E. L. p. 159) whether 
in the line 

The lone | couch, of | his ev|erlas|ting sleep | 

the second foot shall be called a trochee, or an iambus con- 
sisting of a long emphatic unaccented syllable followed by a 
short unemphatic accented syllable. So in p. 150 we have the 
line, 

Proud to I catch cold | at a | Venejtian door | 

in which it is said to be doubtful whether at a should be 
considered a trochee or iambus. And many other instances 
occur. 

The quantity of syllables seems to introduce a still farther 
complication, as we are told {E. L. p. 168) that, though it has 
quite a secondary position in English metre, yet Shakespeare, 
Milton, &c., are fond of giving a special character to their 
rhythm by the introduction of long monosyllables without the 
metrical accent, e.g. 

O'er bog or steep, through strait, rough, dense, or rare, 
With head, hands, wings, or feet pursues his way. 

Here rough and hands are treated by Dr Abbott simply as long 
syllables, but surely it is plain that their rhythmical weight is 
owing to their emphasis, and to the stop which follows them ; 
otherwise rough in itself is no longer than of. However, I note 
this merely to point out that the pupil has here a fourth sort of 
stress to add to the three (emphasis and the two accents) before 
considered. 

We go on now to the syllabic license in disyllabic verse. 
The license of defect, monosyllabic for disyllabic foot, is on the 
whole well treated in S. G. § 479 foil., except that, as we have 
seen, monosyllables are often unnecessarily disyllabized, in 
order to escape transference or omission of accent. 

The syllabic license of excess may consist either in syllables 
supernumerary, not counted in the feet ; or in syllables within 
the feet, which may be either more or less slurred, or dis- 
tinctly pronounced. Of the first we read, S. G. § 454, " An 
extra syllable is frequently added before a pause, especially 



42 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

at the end of a line, but also at the end of the second ^ and, 
less frequently, of the third foot; rarely at the end of the 
fourth." And § 458, "Two extra syllables are sometimes 
allowed before a pause, especially at the end of a line." 

It will be observed that these rules do not justify such 
scanning as we have had in the lines 

To {&\il in the | dispos|ing of ] these chanc(e8. 
Go t(> the I credting | a who|le tribe \ of fops |, 

where the superfluous syllable appears without a pause, and 
(in the second line) at the close of the first as well as of the 
second foot. As to the general principle, while I am disposed 
to allow that an extra syllable is sometimes found at the close 
of the first section of a line which naturally divides into two 
sections, I see no reason for admitting it elsewhere, as for in- 
stance after the fourth foot. Dr Abbott gives two examples 
of the last from the Tempest, in which the trisyllabic foot is 
very common. 

With all I my honjours on | my brother | whereon |. 
So dear | the love | my peo|ple bore me \ nor set|. 

Is there any objection to regarding both as final anapaests ? 

The account of trisyllabic metre in the Lessons § 143 foil, 
seems to me satisfactory so far as it goes, but I think confusion is 
caused in the Grammar by mixing up proper dactyls and 

^ The example given seems to me very doubtful, 

But mine | own safeties |. You may | be right|ly jiist |, 

Bead with the context, it is evident that you is emphatic, and Mr A. J. Ellis 
would divide 

But mine | own safelties. You | may be right|ly just | 
Whatev|er I \ shall think \. 

It is possible however that the initial hut ought to be appended to the previous 
line, thus 

Without I leave ta|king. I | pray you | let not | 

My jeal|ousies | be your | dishonfours, but | 

Mine own | safeties |, You may | be rightjly just |. 

So I had taken it in my paper read before the Philological Society, and 
I find Mr Roby scans it in the same way. Both the 2nd and 3rd feet would 
then be trochees. 



LOGICAL A-PRIORISM. 43 

anapaests with what would commonly be denominated amphi- 
brachs, but which Dr Abbott describes as iambs with a super- 
fluous unaccented syllable which has to be diopped or slurred in 
sound {S. G. § 456). I do not deny that words are often so 
rapidly pronounced in Shakespeare as to lose their full comple- 
ment of syllables, e.g. the words Prospero, parallel and being 
may be so read in the following lines from the Tempest I. 2. 72, 

And Pros\pero the | prime duke | being so | repii(ted 

In dig|nity | and for | the libjeral arts I 

Without I a par\allel, those | being all | my stud(y. 

Dr Abbott has given a very full list of words which he thinks 
were so pronounced. But I do not think such a device helps 
much in the line already cited 

Go to the I creating | a who|le tribe | of fops |. 

So divided, the second foot could be nothing but an amphibrach. 
On the other hand in the Tempest i. 2. 301, 

• Go make | thyself | like a nymph \ o' the sea |; be sub(ject 
To no sight \ but thine | and mine |, 

and in 1 Henry VI. i. 1. 95, 

The duke | of Alen\'qou fli|eth to | his side |, 

the italicized feet can only be described as anapaests. In the 
Lessons § 136 Dr Abbott has no difficulty in allowing this 
in the case of Tennyson's 

The sound | of u\&n\y a heav\ily gall\opi7ig hoof \, 

and, as he says in the same passage, that modern blank verse 
is, for the most part, more strict than that of Milton, and Milton 
is more strict than Shakespeare, in limiting himself to ten 
syllables in a line, why should he deny to Shakespeare the 
liberty he allows to the moderns ? Why should he take such 
pains to get rid of anapaests and dactyls in the elder poet 
by elision, contraction, extra-metrical syllables and other expe- 
dients, which are plainly inapplicable in modem poetry ? He 
does indeed, though with a groan, admit one anapaest of 
portentous harshness, which I think we are not bound to retain. 

Which most ^i6|ingly | ungrave|ly he | did fash(ion Cor. ii. 3. 233. 



44 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

I should prefer to divide this and the preceding line as 
follows : 

Th' apprehenlsiori of | his preslent port|ance which | 
Most gijbingly | ungrave|ly he | did fashion. 

The sequence dactyl-iamb (and a fortion dactyl-anapaest) 
which Dr Guest, as we have seen, repudiates in Milton's line 
Ominous \ conjecjture on | the whole | success | 

is equally opposed to Dr Abbott's rule that "we cannot have 
three consecutive clearly pronounced syllables without a 
metrical accent." Yet it is by no means uncommon in 
Tennyson, cf. 

Galloping \ of Aor|ses o|ver the gras|sy plain |. 
Petulant \ she spoke | and at j herself | she laughed j. 
Modulate \ me soul | of min|cing milmicry !. 
Hammering \ and clink\mg chat|tering Hto|ny names [. 
Glorify\ing clown | and satlyr whence | they need ). 
Timorous\ly and as \ the lea|der of | the herd |. 

Perhaps the principle of slurring is carried a little too far, 
especially in the attempt to get rid of Alexandrines {S. G. 
§ 495 ff.). No doubt Dr Abbott has succeeded in showing 
that many apparent Alexandrines are to be read as ten- 
syllable iambics, but I see no reason for objecting to the 
following, for instance : 

That seemjing to | be most | which we | indeed | least are | 
Acquire I too high | a fame | when him | we serve's | away | 
Besides j I like ] you not j. If you | will know | my house ( 

Nor do I quite undei-stand why such a line as the following 
should be called a trimeter couplet, rather than an Alexandrine, 

Why ring ] not out | the bells | aloud | throughout | the town |. 

I shall not carry further my examination of Dr Abbott's 
system. As a critic of Shakespeare he seems to rae to be 
too anxious to reduce every line to the normal shape. No 
doubt he allows many broken lines; but I think he goes too 
far in endeavouring to raise the following, for instance, to the 
full number of syllables by disyllabizing will and /are : 

Why then | I wi U. Falrewell | old Gaunt |. 



LOGICAL A-PRIORLSM. 45 

Surely it is better to suppose the actor to supply the want of 
the missing syllable, or syllables, by the pause which marks the 
change of subject, than to dwell on such a monosyllable as will. 
Again, as regards the heroic verse generally,! think Dr Abbott 
is too anxious to limit and regulate any departure from the 
normal accentuation, and that, in treating of syllabic license, he 
is too much disposed to disguise or explain away examples of 
trisyllabic feet by the various devices already referred to, and 
especially by, what seems to me, the somewhat desperate remedy 
of allowing extra-metrical syllables in any part of the line. If 
the superfluous syllable is ever allowed within the line, it must 
be after the section or hemistich, because we know that it was 
the law of the Old English and French poetry, with which our 
modern heroic is historically connected, to admit the feminine 
ending in the middle, as well as at the end of the line'. Yet 
even in Shakespeare it is very difficult to find an indisputable 
instance of this. Dr Abbott sends me the following, but it is 
quite possible to divide them so as to ignore the section alto- 
gether, giving an anapaest in the 3rd foot of the former and the 
4th foot of the latter, thus 

To lack I discretjion. Come, go | we to | the King | 

Hamlet il. 1. 117. 

To feed | and clothe | thee. Why | should the poor | be flat|tered? 

Hamlet iii. 1. 64. 

My own feeling is that, dactyls and anapaests being recognized 
English feet, and both undoubtedly employed in the place of 
iambs by our poets of all ages, it is wiser to use them, where 
they will serve, to explain the metre of a verse, rather than to 
have recourse to extra-metrical syllables, a license which, except 
at the end of the line, is now unknown, and is not recognized 
by all even in Shakespeare. On the same ground I should be 
more chary of admitting the amphibrach, as the substitute for 
an iamb, because it is never, as far as I know, made the basis of 
any English poem, and, though I see no objection to its use, I 
cannot call to mind any instance of a heroic line which may 
not be explained without it. 

^ See Appendix at the end of the volume. 



46 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

I must not however close my remarks on Dr Abbott without 
bearing my witness to the great services which he has rendered 
to all students of English poetry. There is plenty of room for 
diversity of opinion in dealing with the refinements and subtle- 
ties of a subject so hard to fix as metre, but none can dispute 
the judgment, the acuteness and the laborious industry ex- 
hibited in the two volumes on which I have been commenting. 

[Dr Abbott has kindly looked through this chapter and 
authorizes me to say that, while retaining his old view as to 
the not unfrequent disyllabization of such words as year, fire, 
say, pale, in Shakespeare, he finds himself in general agreement 
with me as to the scansion of the particular lines quoted. The 
seansions given were in some cases suggested by him as pos- 
sibilities which he is now disposed to reject. In regard to an 
accented ' the,' he would wish to limit himself to the statement, 
that the metrically accented ' the ' usually precedes a mono- 
syllable which is long, in other words, precedes a spondee. He 
has no objection to recognize dactyls and anapaests, but con- 
siders that they are for the most part restricted to certain 
collocations of syllables, or pauses.] 



CHAPTER IV. 

AESTHETIC INTUITIVISM. 
Mr J. A. Symonds. 

I HAVE spoken of the mischief arising from the confusion 
between the aesthetic and the scientific views of metre. EaCh 
is good in its place, but they should be kept distinct, and the 
scientific examination should come first. Otherwise metrical 
analysis shares in all the difficulties of aesthetic analysis, and is 
in danger of becoming to a great extent a matter of individual 
feeling. As an example of this aesthetic or intuitivist way of 
regarding metrical questions, I will take an article on the Blank 
Verse of Milton written by Mr J. A. Symonds, which appeared 
in the Fortnightly for Dec. 1874. I give his system in his own 
words slightly condensed. " English blank verse consists of 
" periods of lines, each one of which is made up normally of ten 
" syllables, so disposed that five beats occur at regular intervals, 
"giving the effect of an iambic rhythm. Johnson was wrong 
" in condemning deviation from this ideal structure as inhar- 
" monious. It is precisely such deviation that constitutes the 
" beauty of blank verse. A verse may often have more than ten 
" syllables, and more or less than five accents, but it must carry 
"so much sound as shall be a satisfactory equivalent for ten 
" syllables, and must have its accents arranged so as to content 
" an ear prepared for five." 

So far we may say all metrists, with perhaps the single 
exception of Dr Guest, would be agreed : the question is how 
we are to interpret the vague phrase " satisfactory equivalent," 
but we shall seek in vain for anything more definite in the 



48 ON ENGLISH MKTRE. 

course of Mr Symonds' article. We have a good deal of 
eloquent declamation about the "balance and proportion of 
syllables," " the massing of sounds so as to produce a whole 
harmonious to the ear, but beyond the reach of analysis by 
feet." We are told that in order to understand the rhythm of 
the line — 

'Tis true, I am that spirit unfortunate — 

" it was necessary to have heard and seen the fiend as Milton 
" heard and saw him. Johnson, with eyes fixed on the ground, 
" searching for iambs, had not gazed on the fallen archangel's 
" face, nor heard the low slow accents of the first two syllables, 
" the proud emphasis upon the fourth, the stately and melancholy 
" music-roll which closed the line." [With equal justice Mr 
Symonds might protest against the profanation of attempt- 
ing to give a grammatical or rhetorical analysis of a speech 
of Demosthenes.] Again, " spasms of intense emotion have 
"to be imagined in order to give its metrical value to the 
" verse, — 

Me, me only, ju.st object of his ire," 
and so on. 

In fact Mr Symonds distinctly asserts what I should call 
the principle of aesthetic intuitivism in the words " the one 
" sound rule for readers is — Attend strictly to the sense and the 
" pauses : the lines will then be perfectly melodious ; but if you 
" attempt to scan the lines on any preconceived metrical system, 
" you will violate the sense and vitiate the music." I need 
not repeat the objections to this view, which have been already 
fully stated in my introductory chapter. Suffice it to say that 
it renders impossible the classification and comparison of metrical 
effects, and encourages the delusion that verse is subject to no 
rules and admits of no science. If nothing more were wanted 
than that the casual reader should be satisfied or gratified by 
his own recitation of a poem, what security should we have 
against misprints and false readings being treated as rhythmical, 
as in the instances quoted from Dr Guest's book in a former 
chapter ? What is there to prevent Milton's heroic 

Universal reproach far worse to bear 



AESTHETIC INTUITIVISM. 49 

from being read as a four-foot iambic commencing with two 
anapaests ? Or why should Mr Syraonds take the trouble to 
argue that certain lines containing twelve syllables ought not 
to be regarded as Alexandrines, if the line will be perfectly 
melodious when read according to the sense and the pauses 
without any preconceived metrical system ? The same con- 
fusion between the scientific and the aesthetic view appears in 
the assumption that those who maintain the value of metrical 
analysis, i.e. of scansion, would also maintain that the reading of 
the line should be determined merely by its scansion, and not 
by its meaning. And apparently the writer thinks that this 
was the case with classical versification. He allows that " such 
terms as trochee and amphibrach may be usefully employed 
between students employed in metrical analysis," that " our 
daily speech is larded with trochees and cretics and so forth " : 
on the other hand, " since quantity forms no part of our prosody, 
and since the licenses of quantity in blank verse can never have 
been determined, it is plainly not much to the purpose to talk 
about choriambs in Milton — though they are undoubtedly to 
be found there — but these names of classic feet do not explain 
the secret of the varied melody of Milton " ; " they do not solve 
the problem of blank verse." 

It is difficult to deal with the mass of inconsistencies in 
these lines : first it is stated that trochees, etc., exist in English, 
and that the terms may be usefully employed by students for 
the purpose of analyzing English metre, and then again we are 
told that since quantity does not enter into our prosody, there- 
fore it is useless to talk of choriambs and classic feet in Milton, 
though he has them. Not to dwell upon this, the writer is 
evidently contrasting quantitative and accentual metre, and 
deprecates the use of classical terms as not explaining the 
secret of the varied melody of the latter. But who ever asserted 
or supposed that Virgil's melody was explained by the mere 
naming of the feet or the scanning of the lines ? Even a school- 
boy in saying his lines is corrected if he scans them instead of 
reciting them with the proper accent and emphasis ; even a 
schoolboy in writing his Latin verses knows that it is only a 
small portion of his task to produce lines that will construe and 

M. M. 4 



50 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

scan. Lines may construe and scan, and yet be utterly inad- 
missible, and even when he has learnt to produce a decent line, 
he is told that he is to notice how Virgil varies his rhythm by 
the position of the caesura, by the prevalence of spondees or 
dactyls, by the length of the clauses and periods. Mr Symonds 
seems to think it an objection to the scanning of English verse, 
that the metrical feet will not always coincide with the natural 
pauses in the sense, but so far from this being an objection in 
Latin poetry, it is the actual rule that they should not in general 
coincide. No doubt the scanning of Virgil is an easy thing, and 
the scanning of Shakespeare and Milton is a hard thing, but I 
see no reason for saying that scanning is more necessary or 
useful in the case of the one than of the other, unless we are 
prepared to maintain that there is absolutely no rule at all 
observed in the English heroic. The scanning of Plautus is just 
as hard as that of Virgil is easy, and hard for the same reason 
as the scanning of English verse is hard, because syllables may 
be slurred in rapid pronunciation, because the metrical value of 
many of the syllables is not fixed, as it was in later Latin, and 
because the alternative feet are so numerous. Thus the place 
of an iambus may be taken by a trochee, a tribrach, a spondee, 
an anapaest, a dactyl, Wagner would say, even a proceleusmatic 
(see his Introduction to the Aulularia). But no one on this 
account thinks scanning superfluous in Plautus. On the con- 
trary, whilst the scanning of Virgil is left to those who are 
commencing their studies in Latin verse, the scansion of Plautus 
has occupied the attention of the ablest scholars from Bentley 
to Ritschl ; and the result is that a metre, of which even Cicero 
confessed that he could make nothing, is now intelligible to any 
ordinary reader. This is a case in which the scientific metrical 
analysis preceded and rendered possible the aesthetic analysis, 
and so I believe it has been and will be in other cases. 

We found an inconsistency just now between the statement 
that the classical terminology might be usefully employed in 
reference to English metre by students accustomed to metrical 
analysis, and the subsequent statement that, since quantity 
formed no part of our prosody, these classical names were only 
misleading. Further on we are told that, in English blank 



AESTHETIC INTUITIVISM. 51 

verse, "scansion by time takes the place of scansion by metrical 
feet ; the bars of the musical composer, where different values 
from the breve to the demi-semi-quaver find their place, suggest 
a truer basis of measurement than the longs and shorts of classic 
feet." If this is to be taken literally, while every foot should 
occupy the same time to pronounce, it may consist of any 
number of syllables from one to thirty-two. Getting rid of 
hyperbole, let us say, from one to four, and consider what 
degree of truth there is in the statement. It is difficult to 
see what connexion there can be between such a metre as this 
and those with which Milton's verse is historically connected, 
the later metre of Dryden, and the earlier metre of Surrey, 
Sackville, Greene, and Peele, who are said to have shown "great 
hesitation as to any departure from iambic regularity^." It is 
difficult also to see how such terms as "trochee and amphibrach 
can be usefully employed by students engaged in the analysis " 
of such a metre. But leaving this, is it true that each foot 
occupies the same time ; e.g. in what Mr Symonds calls the 
ponderous 

Showers, hails, snows, frosts, and two-edged winds that prime 

and in what he calls the light and rapid 

Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts 

is it not palpable that the spondee 'showers, hails,' takes longer 
to pronounce than the trochee 'Athens'? Is it true that there 
may be more than three syllables in a foot ? This too I should 
deny. If there is any apparent case of such a thing, I should 
say that one or more syllables have suffered elision or slurring, 
the apoggiatura of music. And lastly is it, as seems to be 
implied, a matter of indifference on which syllable in the bar or 
foot the accent falls ? If there are three syllables, is it the 
same thing whether the accent falls on the first, second, or 
third of these ? I cannot think we shall gain much from * this 
scansion by time.' 

There still remain two points for consideration, the one the 
inconsistent results obtained by the old metrists, the other the 

^ How little this is true of Surrey will appear below in ch. x. 

4—2 



62 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

challenge offered to explain certain lines of Milton by the ordi- 
nary scanning. To shew the inconsistencies of the old metrists 
we are told that in the line 

Partakers, and uncropt falls to the ground 

the last four syllables were made a choriambic by Todd and a 
dactyl with a demifoot by Brydges. I am not concerned to 
defend either, and in fact both have gone beyond the limits of 
scientific metrical analysis, through a wish to suggest the 
general rhythmical effect. The first business of the metrist is 
to give the bare fact that we have in this line an accented 
seventh followed by an unaccented eighth syllable, making 
what is commonly called a trochee, and again an unaccented 
ninth followed by an accented tenth, commonly called an iamb. 
Todd is not wrong in saying that the two together constitute a 
choriamb, only that, to be consistent, he should very much 
enlarge his terminology and have a name ready for any possible 
collocation of two feet. Brydges, on the other hand, is alto- 
gether on the wrong tack, and opens the door to any sort of 
license. 

We come now to the lines which are said to be beyond the 
reach of analysis by feet. I give what I consider the true 
scanning of each. 

Ruining | along | the illim|itab|le inane 

First dactyl, second iamb, third slurred iamb, or anapaest, 
according to the pleasure of the reader, fourth iamb, fifth same 
as the third. 

The one wind:ing the othier straight | and left | between | 
First slurred spondee, second slurred iamb, the rest iambs. 

See where | Christ's blood | streams in | the fir|mament | 

First trochee, second spondee, third trochee, fourth and fifth 
iambs. The third foot is said to be " illegitimate according 
to iambic scansion," but this is so only accordmg to narrow 
a priori systems such as Johnson's. The limit of trochaic 
variation will be discussed further on. 

'Tis true | I am | that spirit | unforjtunate ] 

First, second, fourth, fifth iambs, third slurred iamb, or if 



AESTHETIC INTUITIVISM, 53 

the reader pleases to pronounce both syllables of ' spirit ' 
distinctly, the last syllable would make the fourth foot an 
anapaest. 

Me me | only | just object of | his ire | 

First spondee, second trochee, third spondee, fourth pyrrhic, 
fifth iamb. Of this line it is said, "it is obvious here that 
scansion by feet will be of little use, but the line is understood 
as soon as we allow the time of two whole syllables to the first 
emphatic ' me,' and bring over the next words ' me only ' in the 
time of another two syllables." If it is meant that scansion by 
feet will not of itself tell us how to read the line, of course I 
agree ; but if it is implied that whenever the second syllable of 
the line is joined closely in sense with what follows it is to be 
reckoned as forming part of the second foot, then I say that we 
destroy the foundation of metre. Nor do I recognize any given 
time for two syllables. I do not see why a reader should not 
give as much time to the first ' me ' as to the four last syllables 
of the line. 

Mr Symonds continues, "The truth of this method is still 
more evident when we take for analysis a line at first singularly 
inharmonious. 

Submiss | he reared | me and whom | thou soughtest | I am | 

Try to scan this line, and it seems a confusion of uncertain 
feet." The feet are all iambs but the third, which may be read 
either as slurred iamb or as anapaest. 

To avoid any possible misconception, I repeat again that 
I find no fault with Mr Symonds for what he has done, 
but for what he has failed to do, and condemned others for 
doing. His aesthetic analysis may be excellent in itself, but 
it cannot take the place of the scientific analysis, nor is there 
the least inconsistency between them. By all means let Mr 
Symonds ' gaze on the archangel's face and hear his stately 
and melancholy music-roll,' but why should that interfere 
with Johnson's humble search for iambs ? I venture to say that, 
as a rule, the ear which has been first purged by listening for 
iambs will be better prepared to receive those higher aesthetic 
pleasures on which Mr Symonds discourses so eloquently. 



CHAPTER V. 

NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 
Mr a. J. Ellis. Mr Masson. Mr Keightley. 

Intermediate between the rigid a priori systems of Dr 
Guest and Dr Abbott, and the anarchical no-system of the 
Intuitivists, comes what I should call the natural or a posteHori 
system of which Mr A. J. Ellis may be regarded as a repre- 
sentative. I am glad to be able to give Mr Ellis' theory of the 
heroic verse in his own words slightly abbreviated from a paper 
read before the Philological Society in June 1876. He com- 
mences with a quotation from the Essentials of Phonetics, p. 76, 
published by him in 1848 but long out of print. 

" An English heroic verse is usually stated to consist of 
ten syllables. It is better divided into five groups [what we 
commonly call feet, what Mr Ellis prefers to call measures], each 
of which theoretically consists of two syllables, of which the 
second only is accented. The theoretical English verse is 
therefore 01, 01, 01, 01, 01 (0 = absence, 1 = presence of stress) ; 
but this normal form is very seldom found. Practically, many 
of the groups are allowed to consist of three syllables, two of 
them being unaccented ; but in these cases the syllable im- 
mediately preceding is very strongly accented. The number of 
syllables may therefore be greater than ten, while the accents 
may be, and most generally are, less than five. It is necessary 
for a n English verse of this description, that there should be an 
accent at the end of the third and fifth group, or at the end of. 
the second and four th ; and if either of these requisites is com- 
plied with, other accents may be distributed almost at pleasure. 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORl SYSTEM. 55 

The last group may also have one or two unaccented syllables 
after its last accent. Much of the beauty of a verse arises from 
the proper distribution of the pauses between the words, and 
also of the groups of accents among the groups of words. Thus 
the second or third group, or measure, must in general be 
divided, that is, must be distributed between two words, or the 
effect on the ear will not be harmonious." 

Mr Ellis then gives the first sixteen lines of Paradise Lost, 
denoting the degree of stress laid on each syllable by the 
figures 2, 1, written underneath, the divisions of the feet 
being marked by commas. 

1. Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit 

2, 1 0, 2, 0, 2 

2. Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 

1, 2, 1, 2, 2 

3. Brought death into the world, and all our woe 

1 2, 0, 2, 1, 2 

4. With loss of Eden, till one greater man 

1, 2, 0, 2, 2 

5. Eestore us, and regain the blissful seat, 

2, 0, 2, 2, 2 

6. Sing, heavenly Muse, that, on the secret top 

2 2, 2, 1 0, 2, 1 

7. Of Horeb or of Sinai, didst inspire 

2, 0, 2, 1, 2 

8. That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed 

12, 0, 2 2, 02,0 2 

9. In the beginning, how the heavens and earth 

0, 2, 1, 2, 2 

10. Rose out of chaos. Or, if Zion hill 

2 0, 2, 1, 2, 2 

11. Delight thee more; and Siloa's brook that flows 

2, 2, 2,0 2, 2 

12. Fast by the oracles of God, I thence 

2 0, 2,0 0, 2, 1 2 

13. Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song: 

2, 2, 0, 2, 2 

14. That with no middle flight intends to soar 

0, 2 2, 2 2, 2 

15. Above the Aonian mount, while it pursues 

1, 2, 2, 2 0, 2 

16. Things unattempted yet, in prose or rhyme 

2 0, 2, 1, 2, 2 

" In these sixteen lines, there is not one with a superfluous 
syllable at the end of the line, but lines 1, 6, 7, 9, 11 and 13 
have eleven syllables, and line 15 has as many as twelve 



56 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

syllables. There are several groups, therefore, of more than 
two syllables, some groups of two, and one (in the first line) of 
three unaccented syllables. Sometimes a group has two ac- 
cents, as in lines 6, 8, 14. Lines 1, 3, 5. 7, 8, 15, owe their 
rhythm to accents at the end of the third and fifth groups; 
lines 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, to accents at the end of the second 
and fourth groups ; and both characteristics are united in lines 
11, 14. The mode in which these necessary conditions are 
diversified, by the introduction of other and unexpected 
accents, or by the omission of accents, is very remarkable, and 
shews the art and rhythmical feeling of the poet. So far from 
the theoretical standard, 01, 01, 01, 01, 01, being of constant 
recurrence, we only find one line (the second) in which it is 
strictly observed ; and even then we have to assume that sub- 
accents have the same effect on the ear as primary accents, 
which is far from being the case. Line 11, in spite of the three 
syllables in the fourth group, approaches the theoretical 
standard nearer than any other verse, and it is immediately 
succeeded by line 12, which, as a contrast, goes miles away from 
the standard form. 

" At a later period, in my Early English Pronunciation, Part 
I., 1869, pp. 333 — 5, I made some passing remarks on Chaucer's 
rhythm as different from the modern, and I laid down my 
modem tests with a few variations, thus : 

" In the modern verse of five measures, there must be a 
principal stress on the last syllable of the second and fourth 
measures ; or of the first and fourth measures ; or of the third 
and some other measure. There is also generally a stress upon 
the last syllable of the fifth measure ; but if any one of the 
three conditions above stated is satisfied, the verse, so far as 
stress is concerned, is complete, no matter what other syllables 
have a greater or less stress or length. The length of syllables 
has much to do with the force and character of a verse, but 
does not form part of its rhythmical laws. It is a mistake to 
suppose that there are commonly or regularly five stresses, one 
to each measure. Take, for example, the first six lines of Lord 
Byron's Corsair, marking the even measures by italics, and the 
relative amount of stress by 0, 1, 2, we have — 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 57 

1. O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea 

1 0, 1 2, 0, 2, 12 

2. Our thoughts as feowno^less and our souls as free, 

1 1, 2, 0, 2, 2 

3. Far as tlie breeze can bear, the 6i71ows foam, 

2 0, 1, 2, 1, 2 

4. Survey our empire, and behold our home! 

1, 2, 0, 2, 2 

5. These are our realms, no \itmts to their sway — 

2 0, 1, 2 1, 0, . 2 

6. Our flag the sceptre all who meet obey 

1 2, 2, 1, 2, 2 

" The distribution of stress is seen to be very varied, but the 
action of the rules given in the text is well marked. Different 
readers would probably differ in the ratios 1 and 2, in some 
lines, and others might think that it would be sufficient to mark 
stress and no-stress. The last line most nearly approaches to 
having five principal stresses. 

" Our English verse, though based on alternations of force, is 
materially governed by length and pause, is seldom or never un- 
accompanied by variety of pitch unknown in prose, and is more 
than all perhaps governed by weight, which is due to expression 
and mental conceptions of importance, and is distinct from force, 
length, pitch, and pause or silence ; but results partly from ex- 
pression in delivery (a very different thing from mere emphasis), 
produced by quality of tone and gliding pitch, with often actual 
weakness of tone, and partly from the mental effect of the con- 
structional predominance of conceptions, as of substantives over 
adjectives, and verbs over adverbs, even when the greater force 
or emphasis is given to the lighter words. Weight is a very 
complex phenomenon, therefore, which certainly affects English 
rhythm in a remarkable manner at times, entirely crossing the 
rules of force or strength. We want, therefore, a nomenclature 
which shall distinguish degrees of force, length, pitch, and 
weight in syllables, and in gi'oups of syllables so affected, and 
of degrees of duration of silence. Our rhythms are thus greatly 
more complicated than the classical, so far as we can appreciate 
them, except the dithyrambic and the comic, which, as Cicero 
felt, required music. {Orator §§ 183 — 4, quos cum cantu spo- 
liaveris nuda paene remanet oratio.) 



supershort 


superlow 


superlight 


supersmall 


sliort — 


- low 


— light 


— small 


subshort 


sublow 


sublight 


subsmall 



58 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

" I have elaborated a series of expressions for degiees of 
force, length, pitch, weight, and silence, which will in some 
way avoid the great ambiguities, and indeed contradictions, 
which occur in the use of the words accent and emphasis among 
writers on rhythm. These are as follows. Nine degrees are 
distinguished, representable by the numbers 1, the smallest, to 
9, the greatest. But of these three are principal, each having a 
super- and sub-form. 

FORCE. LENGTH. PITCH. WEIGHT. SILENCE. 

9. superstrong superlong superhigh superheavy supergreat 
8. — strong — long — high — heavy — great 
7. substrong sublong subhigh subheavy subgreat 

6. supermean supermedial supermiddle supermoderate supermedium 
5. — mean — medial — middle — moderate — medium 

4. submean submedial submiddle submoderate submedium 

3. superweak 
2. — weak - 

1. sub weak 

" For all practical purposes the three principal degrees suf- 
fice, but fewer will not serve. I have found it of great practical 
advantage to be able to speak of a strong syllable, quite inde- 
pendently of the origin of its strength, which may arise from its 
position as an accented syllable in polysyllables, or from its em- 
phatic pronunciation in a monosyllable. Thus we may say that 
English rhythm is primarily governed by alternations and groups 
of strong and weak syllables, and that it is materially influenced 
by alternations and groups of long and short, high and low, 
heavy and light syllables, and great and small pauses. The 
names of these groups would require great care to be suf- 
ficiently intelligible, and I have not yet attempted to work 
them out. As English verse would have, however, to be 
studied in reference to all of them, it is very easy to express a 
group of syllables by the initials F, L, P, W, S, and the corre- 
sponding figures. Thus what used to be called an accentual 
iambus will assume any of the forms F 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 
79, 89 ; or F 18, 28, 38, 48, 58, 68, 78; or F 17, 27, 37, 47, 57, 
67 ; or F 16, 26, 36, 46, 56 ; or F 15, 25, 35, 45 ; or F 14, 24, 
34 ; or F 13, 23 ; or F 12 ; and very subtle eai-s might be ready 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 59 

to appreciate all these forms, although the forms F 28, 58, 25 
would be all that might be generally reckoned. But in such 
groups we might also have L 28, 58, 25 ; P 28, 58, 25 ; and W 
28, 58, 25. Thus F 28 + W 28, and F 28 + W 58, would have 
very different effects, and new effects would be introduced by 
the distribution of the syllables in a group among different 
words and the length of the corresponding silences, if any, no 
silence not being marked. It will be found not easy to take 
note of all these peculiarities in reading a piece of poetry. 
Joshua Steele and James Rush tried much this way, see my 
paper on Accent and Emphasis, Philological Transactions 
1873-4, pp. 129 — 132, Steele attended to length and silence 
in one, under the name of time, and distributed them so as to 
divide speech, in prose or verse, into equal intervals of time, 
answering to musical bars; he especially noted pitch, and also 
force, not however as here employed, but as part of expression, 
and hence forming part of weight, and corresponding to the 
crescendos and diminuendos of music, and in fact the whole 
apparatus of oratory. What is here meant by force he calls 
weight, and makes it agree so completely with the beating of a 
conductor of music, that he assigns weight to silences. 

" When merely two grades are necessary, the long vowel, 
implying a long syllable, has the long mark, as seat; the long 
syllable with a short vowel may have the short mark over the 
vowel, as strength; short vowels and syllables are unmarked. 
Strong syllables have a turned period (•) after a long vowel, as 
re'gion, or the consonant following a short vowel, as wrStch'ed ; 
weak syllables are unmarked. High syllables have an acute 
accent over the short vowel in short syllables, as cdno, or 
after the vowel bearing the long or short mark in long syllables, 
as cd'no, cd'nto. The glide down from a high pitch to a low one, 
always on a long vowel, is marked by the circumflex, as slime. 
The glide up from a low pitch to a high one, also always on a 
long vowel, is marked by a grave accent on the vowel followed 
by an acute accent after it, as Norwegian dag. The low pitch 
is unmarked. But a grave accent marks a still lower pitch. 
Heavy syllables are in italics, light syllables unmarked. Em- 
phasis as affecting a whole word is represented by (•) placed 



60 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

before the whole word, and will mark any peculiarity of ex- 
pression by which it is indicated in speech. Silence, when not 
marked by the usual points or dashes, or in addition to these, 
is denoted by (o), a turned mark of degrees, for small, and (o), 
a turned zero, for long silences. Odd measures end with | , 
and even measures with ]. By this means all the principal 
points of rhythm can be easily marked by ordinary types. 

" From the above it will be seen how minute are my own 
notions of rhythm as actually practised by poets in a developed 
state of literature, not those who had to struggle with singsong 
doggrel, as in much of our oldest rhymes. This also shews in 
what sense I consider the old classical terms ' misleading ' 
— principally, as now used, in studying classical metres with 
modern prepossessions, — and also as utterly insufficient for 
English purposes. 

" I will conclude by appending a few lines which I have put 
together for the sole purpose of contrasting irregularities with 
regularities. Lines in strange rhythms would never be so ac- 
cumulated and contrasted in practice. I mark them for force 
only below, but roughly for length, pitch, weight, silence, and 
measure, in the text, and add remarks. 

1. In the I bia,ck- sky-\] glfnnnSrs I the pa'"le] co"ld moo'n^ 

2 2 6 8, 8 2, 2 6 6 8 

2. sad* gho'st I of nvght,^ and the sta'TS | twln'kW] ar5u*nd 

5 5, ' 2 6, 2 2 8, 7 2, 2 6 

or, 2 2, 7 8, 2 2 6 

3. TrSni'bling | spdn'gles\] set' in | her da'Tk] gau'ze vei'l 

5 2, 5 2, 5 2, 2 5, 7 8 

4. Pa*le quee'n, \ pirre quee'ii,] dii'll' qtiie'n, | forlo'Tn] quge'n„ ; a'-ye^^ 

5 6, 6 6, 7 5, 5 8 8 9 " 

6. Give me | the so'lcial gld'w, I the bri"ght] cdd'l^, the^ 

7 2, 2, 8, 2 7, 2 7, 8 2 " 

6. Fit"ful:ly ge*]nial Jld-me,r^ \ li-ghting] ea*ch ch6e*k, 

6 2, 2 7, 2 2 7, " 8 5, 5 8, 

7. Gll'ding | each smrle], bri''ghtsome | acc6m']paniment 

8 5, 5 8. 8 3 28 122 

8. Of bri'ght|8ome mel''\ody rlng"|ing from brI"ght].some h6aTts. 

2 8, 3 8, 3 2 8, 3 2 8, 3 8 

9. The rigvid ll'-ne] enca-.sed | in rig*]id ru''les„, 

2 7, 2 7, 2 7, 1 7, 2 7 

10. As dtl'll* I as stdg'jnant wd\ter,o du'll's] the ml*nd 

18, 18, 1 7, 1 " 8, 2 7 

1 1. That Idngs \ to frge'*] itself*^ | from ha'Tsh] contro'l^ 

1 8, 1 8, 2 7, 1 7, 2 8 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORl SYSTEM. 61 

12. Andg in I the va-Jried rhy'th-\m of hea'Tt] and sou'-l 

3 1, 1 7, 2 7, 1 1 7, 1 8 

13. Fge'"ls the | sttn'-^(5'G?-,] true* pd'\esp's-'\ true'* king' 

7 1, 8 7, 7812 7 8 

It will be at once evident that force is here very insufficient 
for marking the rhythm, and that length, weight and silence 
have much effect. The only regular lines are 9, 10, 11, and 
they have a singularly dull effect among the others. Some of 
the lines set all ordinary rules at naught, and some readers 
may take them, as Goethe's mother took Klopstock's Messiah^ 
for 'prose run mad.' Line 1, an ordinary form, begins with 
two short and weak syllables, followed by two strong and long 
ones, of which the first, 'blS,ck",' has a short vowel and an 
ordinary pitch, and the second, 'sky*',' has a long diphthong, 
and with a higher pitch. The next two measures are of the 
form strong-weak weak-strong, very usual at the commence- 
ment or on beginning the third or fourth measure. The third 
measure, 'glim'mers,' has a short strong high first syllable, and 
a long weak low second syllable, which is also very common. 
The three long strong syllables which close the line are very 
common as an ending, the first is high, and the other two 
descend, but the voice must not drop to ' m5o'n,' as the 
sentence does not end. The weight of the last words makes the 
metre secure. In line 2 there are three long and rather strong 
syllables, but the pitch is low, and the weight unimportant. 
These are relieved by the trisyllabic third measure, in which 
the first two syllables are extremely light, short and weak. 
The pitch rises on the long and strong * sta'*rs,' but higher yet 
on its verb (and hence heavy) ' twin"kl6,' in which the first 
syllable is short and strong, but the second long and weak, the 
U standing for the long I only. Line 3 does not satisfy any 
one of my three tests, for it is only the fourth and fifth 
measures which end with a strong syllable. On examination it 
will be seen that the line consists of two sections ; the first, 
' trSm'bling span*gl§s,' of two measures with the strong and 
long syllable first, and the last ending with a long syllable ; and 
the second, ' set* in her da'"rk gau'ze vevl' of three measures, 
of which the first two are common initial and post-pausal 
measures (strong-weak -f- weak-strong), and it is this arrange- 



62 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

ment which saves the line ; the last three syllables are all 
strong, but the last is the heaviest, and this makes the line 
complete. It would be easy to alter the line to 

Set" in I her da"'rk] gau'ze verl | like trem*]bling span'glh, 
or to 

Trgm-bling | like 8pa,'n-]gl6s in | her daTk] gau'ze vei'H, 
or 

Like spS'n'Igles trSm-]bliug in | her daTk] gau-ze vei''l. 

But all these would be far more commonplace both in rhythm 
and poetry. At present, the beginning of the line typifies the 
feeling of the trembling starlight, while the three strong final 
syllables contrast this with the dark expanse of the heavens. 

" Line 4, with its nine strong syllables, is strange. The fifth 
syllable, ' dull,' has decidedly more force than the sixth, 'queen,' 
because the word forms a climax, but the ' queen ' throughout 
has much weight from grammatical reasons, which restores the 
balance of rhythm. The slight pause in the fifth measure 
raises the * queen ' in force, and also requires the pitch to be 
sustained, that the ear may be prepared for the 'a*'ye,' which 
not only rises in force, but much more in pitch, and must be 
followed by a much longer silence, ready for the burst in the 
next line (5), where the first words, ' give me the,' will be very 
short, though ' give ' will be distinctly emphasised, and with a 
much lower pitch than the preceding ' a' ye.' The chief force 
comes on 'so''cial,' which will lengthen its first syllable and 
rise in pitch, whereas 'glow' will be nearly as strong, much 
heavier, but lower. The last four syllables seem to knock 
verse on the head, but the nearly equal force of ' bright ' and 
' coal,' with heavier weight and higher pitch of ' coal,' allow 
the slight pause after it ; the weak but lengthened ' the ' 
(which must have a perceptible pause after it, without dropping 
the voice to the lowest pitch, to fill up the last measure) pre- 
pares the mind to contrast the steady brightness of the glowing 
coal with the jerking darting flame — typified in the whole two 
lines 6 and 7, first by the three-fold recurrence of the group 
strong-weak + weak-strong (the first united with another of the 
form weak-weak-strong, having the weak syllables almost sub- 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 63 

weak and sub-short, and the two others, complete in themselves, 
with the weak syllables rising to medium force and medial 
length), and next in the curious form of the last two measures 
of line 7, 'accom'paniment,' which must retain all its five 
syllables. The gushing of the ' melody ' is indicated in a 
similar manner by the two trisyllabic measures in line 8 ; the 
effect may be readily seen by avoiding them thus — 

Of bri'ghtsome no'tes, ring'ing from bri'ghtsome hea'-rts, 
or, worse far, but restoring regularity — 

Of bri"'ghtsome noHes, that rl'rig" from bri'ghtsome hea'Tts, 

where I have marked the regular singsong pitch. One can 
fancy Pope ' correcting ' to this form ! 

" After the three very dull regular lines 9, 10, 11, the ear is 
greatly relieved by the line 12, beginning with three weak 
syllables, rising to a climax of weight and pitch in ' rhythm,' 
and introducing a trisyllabic fourth measure, with sustained 
pitch on the last syllable of the fifth measure to mark the 
parenthetical clause, and lead on to the last line 13, with its 
heavy lengthy rhythm, marked especially by the word ' sun- 
god,' which has most force on the first syllable, 'sun,' but 
higher pitch and heavier weight on the second, ' god.' The 
last three measures of this line, with four long, strong, and 
heavy syllables, is relieved by distributing them into two 
groups of two, separated by a very light weak measure with a 
last syllable of medial length, which saves the line from ponde- 
rosity without detracting from its majesty. 

" These observations on my own lines, patched together for 
the mere purpose of exemplification, will serve to shew the 
method in which, if I could bestow the requisite time upon 
them, I should study the rhythms of real poets, and the great 
complexity of English rhythms in the state they have reached 
since the beginning of the seventeenth century, when Shakspeare 
had learned to be daring in metre as well as poetry. But each 
poet would have to be considered in relation to his antecedents 
and his contemporaries, and the state of our language at the 
time, as shewn by its pronunciation, and its prose manipulation. 
Each poet, worthy of being so called, bears his own individual 



64 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

rhji-hmical stamp, as well as that of his age. We must not 
judge Chaucer's rhythms by Browning's or Swinburne's, any 
more than we must judge the unison music of the Greeks by 
the choral music of Handel and Bach." 

Mr Ellis remarks subsequently that the above rules are 
defective in not paying sufficient regard to the fifth measure, 
which, striking the ear last, like a cadence in music, is often 
typical. With respect to this fifth measure, the general condi- 
tion, although circumstances sometimes arise which induce the 
poet to violate it, is that the last syllable should not 5e weaker 
than the preceding syllable or syllables, and that, when it is 
actually weaker, it should be at least longer or heavier. The 
usuaTTorm oTtTie fifth m'easure Is wea k-strong. " 

" In looking through the first book of Paradise Lost, I find 
this usual form in a decided majority of instances. It occurs in 
fifteen out of the first sixteen lines already quoted (p. 55). 
Even in the exception (line 12), the fifth measure is at most 
mean-strong. In a few instances I have noted weak-weak- 
strong; but then the weak is usually sub- weak, as: ethere-al 
sky, fie-ry gulf, tempestu-ous fire, mutu-al league, perpetu-al 
king, sulphu-rous hail, fie-ry waves, Stygi-an flood, oblivi-ous 
pool, superi-or friend, ponde-rous shield, cho-sen this place, 
popu-lous North, barba-rous sons, fie-ry couch, tem-ple of God, 
border-ing flood, gener-al names, Isra-el 'scape, spi-rit more 
lewd (where the second weak syllable is almost sub-mean, but 
sprite may have been said), counten-ance cast, follow^-ers rather 
(with a superfluous syllable also), spir-it that fell. A very com- 
mon variety is simply weak -weak, as: ar-gument, prov-idence, 
vis-ible, en-emy, suprem-acy, es-sences, mis-ery, mis-erable, 
(with a superfluous syllable, which is not usual after a fifth 
measure of this kind), calam-ity, circum-ference, chiv-alry, car- 
casses, invis-ible, etc. 

" The most important deviation, however, consists in having 
fifth measures of the form strong-supers trong, or mean-strong, 
or even strong-strong or strong-heavy. I subjoin all cases of 
this kind which occur in the first book of Paradise Lost, quoting 
the whole line, and italicising those other measures, which, 
instead of being weak-strong, have any other form, as weak- 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 



65 



I 



weak, mean-strong, strong-strong, strong-mean, strong-weak, or 
trisyllabic. The figures prefixed shew all the measures in 
which the last syllable predominates over the others, and a 
glance at them will shew that, whatever other measures satisfy 
this condition, we have always either the third and fifth, or the 
second and fourth, that most frequently only four measures 
satisfy this condition, and that when all the five measures have 
the principal force on the last syllable (which occurs in seven 
cases), one at least of these measures is varied by strengthen- 
ing or lengthening the preceding syllable, or trisyllabising a 
measure, and thus avoiding the monotony — in fact only one 
(' By ancient Tarsus ') does not treat at least two measures in 
this way. 

1 345 Wast present, and] with might|y wings] out-spread 

123 5 Say first \ for Heav'n] hides noth\ing froin] thy view 

2345 Nor the \ deep tract] of Hell ; | say first] what cause 

23 5 Favoured \ of Heav'n] so highj^y to] fall off 

123 5 The infer\nsi\ ser]pent ; he | it was,] whose guile 

2345 Mix^d with \ obdu]rate pride | and stead]fast hate 

12 45 A dun|geon hor]riZ>/e \ on all] sides round 

123 5 As one | great fur]na,ce flam'd ; | yet from those flames 

2345 Regions \ of sor]row, dole|ful shades,] where peace 

123 5 That comes | to all;] but tor\ture vdth]out end 

2 45 There the | compan]io?is of \ his fall] o'erwhelm'd 

123 5 And thence | in Heav'n] calVd Sat Ian, with] bold words 

12345 If thou I beest he;] but O, | how falVn!] how chang'd 

23 5 ClotKd with | transcend]ent bright|nes8, didst \ outshine 

12345 Though chancfd \ in out]ward lus|tre that] fix'd mind 

2 45 Who from \ the tQv]rour of \ this arm] so late 

2 45 Irrec|oncile]a6Ze | to our] grand foe 

2345 Out of I our e]vil seek | to bring] forth good 

12345 By anicient Tars]us held; | or that] sea-beast 

2 45 Moors by \ his side] under \ the lee,] while night 

12345 So stretch' d \ out huge] in length | the arch-]fiend lay 

2 45 Evil I to oth]er«; and \ enrag'd,] might see 

123 5 How all \ his mal]ice serv'd | but to] bring forth 

123 5 That felt | xxnvi^ual weight; \ till on] dry land 

123 5 Of \xn\blest feet.] Him'fol\low''d his] next mate 

23 5 In this | unhap]py man|«io'/i; or] once more 

2 45 Hung on \ his should]er's like \ the moon, | whose orb 

2 45 Or in | Valdar]mo to \ descry] new lands 

12345 Hath vex'd | the Red] Sea coast, | ^vhose waves] o'erthrew 



M. M. 



5 



66 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

2346 Roaming \ to seek] their prey | on Ciirth,] durst fix 

12345 By that | uxo]rio?w king^ | whose heart] though large 

123 5 Of Tham|inuz yearjly wound|ec?; the] love-tale 

123 5 Infect|ed Sijon's daughtjers with] like heat 

1 345 Of &\liena]ted Ju|dah. Next] came one 

2345 Maiwid his \ brute {m|age, head | and hands] lopt oflF 

1 345 From mor|to^ or] immor\ia,\ minds.] Thus they 

123 5 That fought | at Thebes] and Il\ium, on] each side 

123 5 That all | these pu\issant le\gions whose \ exile 

1 345 He spake, | and^ to] confirm] his words | out-flew 

13 5 In y\\sion 6e]atif|ic; by] him first 

12345 To manly a row] of pipes | the sound-]board breathes 

Nevertheless, even with this supplementary caution respecting 
the constitution of the fifth measure, my rules do not form, as 
I thought, the sole conditions of rhythmical verse. A really 
rhythmical line can be contrived (as line 3 of my own, p. 60), 
which does not follow my rules, but owes its rhythmical 
character to other considerations, which I have partly noticed 
on p. 61." 

In the above remarks of Mr Ellis I cordially agree, (1) as to 
the general statement of the law of the heroic metre, (2) as to 
the greater or less intensity of the metrical stress even in what 
would be usually treated as regular iambic feet. I also agree, 
to a considerable extent, in what he says (3) as to the limits of 
trisyllabic and trochaic substitution. But whilst I admire, I 
with difficulty repress a shudder at the elaborate apparatus he 
has provided for registering the minutest variations of metrical 
stress. Not only does he distinguish nine different degrees of 
force, but there are the same number of degrees of length, 
pitch, silence, and weight, making altogether forty-five varieties 
of stress at the disposal of the metrist. The first observation 
which occurs upon this is that, here as elsewhere, the better is 
the enemy of the good. If the analysis of rhythm is so terribly 
complicated, let us rush into the arms of the intuitivists and 
trust to our ears only, for life is not long enough to admit of 
characterizing lines when there are forty-five expressions for 
each syllable to be considered. But leaving this : there is no 
difficulty in understanding what is meant by force, pitch, length 
and silence, and I allow that all of them have an influence on 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 67 

English rhythm, though the first alone determines its general 
character. But what is meant by " weight " ? Mr Ellis calls it 
" a very complex phenomenon," which " is, more than all, the 
governing principle of English verse," and " is due to expression 
and mental conceptions of importance, resulting partly from 
expression in delivery, produced by quality of tone and gliding 
pitch, and partly fr6m the mental effect of the constructional 
predominance of conceptions." I caimot think that what is 
thus described has any right to be classed along with those 
very definite accidents or conditions of sound, force, pitch, 
length and silence. Feeling and thought may be expressed by 
any one of these, as well as by the regularity or irregularity of 
successive sounds. Weight therefore cannot be defined as ex- 
pressiveness ; or if it is, it is something which cannot exist 
separately, but only manifests itself through the medium of one 
of the others \ Nor do I find the difficulty cleared up by 
looking at Mr Ellis' examples. In his own lines he tells us 
(p. 61) that " moon," at the end of the first, has weight, but in 
the second, " sad ghost of night," though " long and strong," is 
" unimportant in weight " : " twinkle " is heavy as being a verb, 
and also " glow " and " coal " further on. I confess I fail to see 
any ground for these distinctions ; to insist upon them as 
essential to the appreciation of rhythm seems to me to be 
putting an unnecessary burden on all students of poetry. The 
one thing to attend to is the variation oi force, arising either 
from emphasis, in the case of monosyllables, or from the word- 
accent in polysyllables. When this is thoroughly grasped it 
may be well to notice how the rhythm thus obtained receives a 
further colouring from pitch, length, or silence, from allitera- 
tion, and in various other ways, but all these are secondary. 

I proceed now to consider the limitation which Mr Ellis 
puts upon the general rule that every foot admits of the in- 
version of the accent. In the remarks above quoted he gives 

1 On this Mr Ellis writes " respecting 'weight,' I am afraid I cannot go into 
further particulars. I do not insist on the appreciation of weight, or pitch, or 
quality, or length, or anything but variety of force for the mere discovery of the 
laws of rhythm. The other considerations are only required for the complete 
estimation of the poet's march within those laws, and this march differs 
materially from poet to poet." 

5—2 



68 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

two views, not quite consistent with each other, one of which 
appeared for the first time in 1848, and the other in J869. 
According to the former, " it is necessary that there should be 
an accent on the last syllable, either of the third and fifth 
measures, or of the second and fourth. If either of these 
requisites is complied with, other accents may be distributed 
almost at pleasure." According to the latter view, " there must 
be a principal stress on the last syllable of the second and 
fourth measures ; or of the first and fourth ; or of the third and 
some other. If any one of these three conditions is satisfied, 
the verse, so far as stress is concerned, is complete." Yet else- 
where Mr Ellis confesses that even this later and freer view 
is only applicable in cases in which " the feeling of the rhythm 
is still preserved, not in a case in which the initial syllables 
of all the other measures had the stress"; and that "rhyth- 
mical lines can be written which do not observe these rules, 
though their observance creates rhythmical lines." But how 
can it be said that ' their observance creates rhythmical lines," 
when it has just been acknowledged that it will not do so, 
if the initial syllables of all the other measures have the 
stress ? I am unable to understand the value of a rule, the ob- 
servance of which does not necessarily make the line rhythmical, 
and the breach of which does not necessarily make it un- 
rhythmical. Of the latter we have more than one example in 
the lines quoted by Mr Ellis himself Thus his own line, 

Trembling spdngles s^t in her ddrk gauze v^il, 

Jias the final stress only in the fourth and fifth measures. 

We will now try the effect of an accent on the last syllable 
of the second and fourth feet, which is all that is required, ac- 
cording to both of Mr Ellis' statements, to complete the verse, 
as far as stress is concerned. 

Hdrk there | is heard | soiind as | of man | groaning |. 

I cannot say that this rhythm is at all satisfactory to my ear, 
and I should doubt very much whether a parallel could be 
found for it from any iambic passage by a recognized poet. It 
seems to me that a better rhythm is produced by the iamb in 
the second and the fifth place ; e.g. 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 69 

Solind the | alarm | sotind the | trumpet | of war|. 

In fact, as Mr Ellis acknowledges in his subsequent statement, 
the final iamb is almost as characteristic in English as in 
Greek ; if it is inverted, the rest of the line must be strongly- 
iambic, not to lose its proper rhythmical character. I should 
be inclined to say that the limit of trochaic substitution was 
three out of fi ve, proyided that the final foot remained iambic, 
otherwise two out of five (see however below on Hamlet). We 
have tried a line with trochees in all but the second and fifth, 
we will now give specimens of iambs in the other feet. 

First and fifth — The din | thickens | sound the | trumpet | of war |. 
Third and fifth — Hark the | chorus | is heard | sweetly | they sing |. 

Perhaps one should except also the line which has the two 
iambs close together (fourth and fifth), as 

Hark how | loud the | chorus | of joy | they sing |, 

unless there is a decided break in the sense so as to make a 
pause after the first two feet, as in Mr Ellis' line 

Trembling | spangles ! set in | her dark | gauze veil |. 

I think, however, it is a mistake to pick out a certain position 
of the accents, as Mr Ellis has done in p. 56, and speak of the 
rhythm of a line as owing to accents so placed, when the line 
has other accents which are of themselves capable of sustaining 
the rhythm. 

With regard to the other accentual irregularities, excess o f 
accent, i.e. the spondee, is all o wable in any position, and I am 
inclined to think that the limit of this substitution is wider 
than those which we have been considering, that in fact there 
might be four spondees in the line, supposing that the fourth or 
fifth foot remains iambic ; that we might have, for instance, 



Rocks caves, | lakes fens, | bogs dens, 



shades dire | of death | 
death's re|gion all | 

where dark | death reigns | ^ 

1 Since the above was written I have had my attention drawn to Milton's 
line containing four spondees, the solitary iamb occurring in the 2nd foot, 
Say Muse \ their names | then known | who first | who last | 



70 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Defect of accent, t he pyrrhic, may also be found in any position, 
but it is rare for two pyrrliics to come together, and perhaps 
impossible without a secondary accent falling on one of the 
syllables, e.g. on the last syllable of mansionry. 

By his I loved man|8ionry \ that the | heaven's breath |. 

Perhaps this line would be better scanned with a trisyllabic 
fourth foot, but we might replace ' heaven's breath ' by ' sweet 
south,' without destroying the rhythm. If not more than two 
pyrrhics can come together, it follows that the limit to this 
substitution will be three out of five, and as a rule the other 
feet would be spondees rather than iambs. 

As to trisyllabic substitution it is plain that, if we set no 
limit to this, the character of the metre is changed, and that, 
if we were to meet, say, such a line as the following in a heroic 
passage descriptive of the sphinx, 

Terrible | her approach | with a hid|eous yel|ling and scream |, 

we could only describe it as an intrusion of trisyllabic metre. 
On the other hand, we might say, without destroying the iambic 
character of the line 

Terrible | their approach I with on|set huge i of war | 
(or) with hi|deoiis din | of war | 

(but not, I think) with hi|deous yeljling and scream |. 

That is, I think the limit of trisyllabic substitution is three out 
ofJEiye. I should be surprised to find more than this in any 
serious poetry, and if it did occur, I think the true scientific 
account (i.e. the scanning) of the line would be, to call it an 
anapaestic verse inserted by a freak of the poet in the midst 
of a passage of a different nature ^ 

We must distinguish, iiowever, between the different kinds 
of trisyllabic feet. The anapa est, which may be considered an 

1 Mr Swinburne however has a heroic line which contains four anapaests 
and yet satisfies the ear : 

Thoa art old|er and coldler of spi|rit and blood | than I|. 

Mar. Fah A. 3, Sc. 1. 

No doubt the syllables run very smoothly, so that the auapaests are not far 
removed from slurred iambs. 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 71 

extension of the iamb, is the most common ; the dact yl, which 
is similarly an extension of the trochee, is only allowable. I 
think, in the first and either the third or fourth foot ; e.g. we 
may say 

Terrible | their approach | terrible | the clash | of war i 

or 

Terrible | the clash | of war | terrible [ the din|. 

Whether amphibrach, i.e. iamb followed by an unaccented 
syllable, could be allowed in any place, except, of course, in cases 
of feminine rhythm, is perhaps doubtful. I cannot remember 
any parallel to a heroic line such as the following, but I see no 
objection to it : 

Kebouuding | from the rock | the an|gry break|ers roared |. 

A similar doubt may be raised with regard to the tribrach, 
i.e. a foot consisting of three unaccented syllables. Mr Ellis 
finds a tribrach in the fourth place of the following line. 
Of man's | first dis|obe[dience and | the fruit |, 

02 100200 2 

which some might prefer to scan 

Of man's | first diS|Obe|dience | and the fruit |. 

Sometimes the dactyl approaches nearly to a bacchius or cretic, 
and the anapaest to an antibacchius. The essential rule is that 
the syllable, which by theory bears the stress, should at all 
events not be overpowered by the secondary stress. 

Mr Masson's views on Milton's versification are given in 
an Essay prefixed to his edition of Milton. The general 
formula of Milton's blank verse being xa (where x stands for an 
unaccented, a for an accented syllable), he explains this formula 
to mean that " each line delivers into the ear a general hxa 
effect ; the ways of producing this effect being various. What 
the ways are, can only be ascertained by carefully reading and 
scanning a sufficient number of specimens of approved blank 
verse." " On the whole it is best to assume that strictly 
metrical effects are pretty permanent, that what was agreeable 
to the English metrical sense in former generations, is agreeable 
now. and that, even in verse as old as Chaucer's, one of the 



72 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

tests of the right metrical reading of any line is that it shall 
satisfy the present ear." " What combinations of the disyllabic 
groups xa, ax, xx, aa, can produce a blank verse which shall be 
good to the ear, is not a matter for arithmetical computation, 
but for experienced" Sometimes a line will be found satisfac- 
tory to the ear, though only one, or not even one, of its feet 
is of the normal type,, e.g. 

Scanda|lous or | forbid |den in | our law|, 

a T X X X a X X a a 

Hail! Son | of the | Most High | heir of | both worlds |. 

a a X X a a a x a a 

" I perpetually find in Milton a foot for which ' spondee ' 
is the best name." " English blank verse admits a trochee, 
spondee, _gr tribrach in almost any place in the line." The 
number of accents in a line varies from three to eight. In 
seventy lines, containing trisyllabic feet, Mr Masson finds 
eighteen anapaests, occurring in any place ; six dactyls, occur- 
ring in the first, second and fourth feet ; six tribrachs in the 
first, second, and third : three antibacchius, occurring in the 
second and third ; two cretics in the first and fourth ; thirty- 
five amphibrachs, occurring in any foot but the last : in some 
lines there are two trisyllabic feet. He refuses to get rid of 
syllables by the process of elision or slurring. As the line has 
frequently more than ten syllables, so it has occasionally less. 

Mr Masson quotes largely in proof of his theory, but it seems 

1 This is in somewhat amusing contrast with Dr Guest's a priori calculation 
of the possible varieties of the heroic line. Beginning with the section of two 
accents, he says, "this, when it begins abruptly, is capable only of two forms 
AbA and Abb A ; but, as these may be lengthened and doubly lengthened, they 
produce six varieties. It is capable of six other varieties when it begins with 
one unaccented syllable, and of the like number when it begins with two. Hence 
the whole number of possible varieties is 18. The verse of four accents, being 
made up of two sections of two accents each, will give 18 multiplied by 18 
varieties, or 324. Tbe possible varieties of the verse with five accents is 1296, 
to wit, 648 when the first section has two accents, and the like number when it 
has three. Of this vast number by far the larger portion has never yet been 
applied to the purposes of verse. There are doubtless many combinations, as 
yet untried, which would satisfy the ear, and it is matter of surprise, at a 
time when novelty has been sought after with so much zeal, and often to the 
sacrifice of the highest principles, that a path so promising should have been 
adventured upon so seldom." English Rhythms, p. 160. 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 73 

to me that in many cases the line is wrongly scanned. Thus to 
shew that a line may have no more than nine syllables he quotes 
(from Comus, 596) 

Self-fed and self-consum'd : if this fail. 

But though the e of ' consumed ' is omitted in the standard 
editions, we are not bound to consider that this represents the 
pronunciation, any more than that ' rott'ness ' in the next line 
is a disyllabic. If we read ' consumed ' as a trisyllable the line 
is perfectly regular. Another instance of a nine-syllable line 
has still less to say for itself In Pickering's edition it reads 
thus (P. L. III. 216)— 

Dwells in | all hea|ven char|ity | so deare |, 

which is of course perfectly regular. 

The question of elision and slurring will be considered 
further on. If, as I believe, Milton practised both, this would 
very much weaken, if not entirely destroy, the evidence in 
favour of such feet as the antibacchius, cretic and amphibrach. 
As examples of the first we find 

If true I here only | and of ] deli|cious taste | 
Not this I rock only | his om|nipres|ence fills | 
Thy pun|ishment | then justly | is at | his will | 

In these lines the y of only and justly may be either slurred 
before the following vowel, or it may be taken with the follow- 
ing foot and change that into an anapaest. For cretics we have 
the lines 

Each to oth|er like | more than | on earth | is thought | . 

I must ] not sufjfer this | yet 'tis but | the lees | Com. 809. 

In the former I should be disposed to slur to, making the first 
foot a spondee ; compare 

The^one wind|ing, the'"oth|er straight | and left | between (. 

F. R. III. 256. 

Tbe~one sweet|ly flat|ters, the^othler fear|eth harni|. 

Rape of LvAirece 172. 

In the latter it might be contended, on other than metrical 
grounds, that yet had been foisted into the text by mistake. 
" 'Tis but the lees " would then give the reason for ** I must not 



74 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

suflfer this." Tf the ' yet ' is genuine, it implies that, though the 
lady has committed a punishable offence, yet Comus considering 
it to be merely owing to the " settlings of a melancholy blood," 
requires nothing more than that she should drink the contents 
of the magic glass. In this case, ' yet ' should be scanned with 
the preceding foot, which would then be an anapaest. 

As regards the examples of amphibrach, many disappear if 
we allow of slurring and elision, as 

Whom reason | hath e| quailed force | hath made | supreme | 

which becomes regular if we read reas'n ; 

Of rainbows | and starjry eyes | the wajters thus | 
which should be divided as follows, slurring y before eyes : 

Of rain|bows and | starr}''"eyes | the waiters thus | 

In the lines which follow, ' pursuers ' and ' the highest ' may 
either be taken as slurred iambs or the last syllable in each 
case should go with the following foot, making it an anapaest. 

Of their | pursuers | and ojvercame | by flight [ 

Aim at | the highest | without 1 the highest ] attained i 

In other cases the line may be read with an anapaest instead of 
an amphibrach 

Fled and | pursued j transverse | the reso|nant fugue | 
where the last two feet may be divided 

I the resjonant fugue | . 

[In the lines which follow I italicize Mr Masson's amphi- 
brachs, but divide, as I should scan them myself, with ana- 
paests.] 

The mj^n'cate wards | and ev|ery bolt | and bar | 

In p{\ety thus | and pure | devo|tion | 

Ridic^uXows, and | the work | Confujsion named | 

Their city his tem|ple and | their hojly ark | 

Mirac\u\ovis, yet | remain]ing in | those locks | 

This ii«|«olence oth|er kind ] of an|swer fits|. 

Of mas|»y ir\on or sol 'id rock | with ease | 

Csim&tion jnir\ple az|ure or speckt | with gold | 

Out, out I hyae\na these ] are thy wonjted arts j 

Tongue-dough[<3/ gi\ant how • dost thou prove i me these | 



NATURAL OR A-POSTERIORI SYSTEM. 75 

To quench | the drought | of Phoe\bus which | as they taste | 
But for I that damn'd | magic\ian let | him be girt | 
Crams and | blasphemes I his fee\der shall | I go on | 
Made godjdess of | the riv\er still | she retains | 

I need not go through the whole list. All may be treated 
in the same way ; I can see no reason why Mr Masson should 
have found amphibrachs in them any more than in the fol- 
lowing line, which he himself reads with an anapaest, not as 
might have been expected, with an initial amphibrach. 

Afford I me, assa8J8ina|ted and | betrayed |. S. Ag. 1109. 

While agreeing with Mr Masson in finding dactyls, ana- 
paests and trochees in Milton's blaijik verse, I cannot accept his 
scanning of the following lines, which I have divided, so as to 
shew what I believe to be the real feet, italicizing Mr Masson's 
dactyls. 

Little I «tt«pic|ious to an|y king | but now | 

Shook ih.e'" ar\senal \ and thun|dered ojver Greece | 

From us | his foes | pronounced | glory \ he exacts j 

Next comes the question of the tribrach, of which the 
following examples are cited. As before, I italicize the supposed 
tribrachs, while giving my own scanning. 

Epic\ure\An and | the Stoic | severe 

10010 20 01 

Here I think the 4th foot has a better title to be classed as an 
amphibrach than any of those so classed by Mr Masson 

Curios|iVy | mquis|itive im|portune | 

[Mr Masson considers that the last line consists of anapaest, 
tribrach, trochee and two iambs. I read it as anapaest, two 
iambs, anapaest, iamb, supposing the accent of ' importune ' to 
be the same as in P. L. ix. 610; if it is accented as in P. R. 
II. 404, the 4th foot would be an iamb, and the line would 
have a feminine ending.] 

So he I with 6.\S\ficul\ty and la;bour hard ] 
To a I fell &di\versa\ry his hate | and name | 
The throne | hered|iVary and bound | his reign |. 

It may be worth while to compare with Mr Masson's ac- 
count of the Miltonic line the remarks on the same subject 



76 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

by Mr Keightley in his interesting volume on the Life, 
Opinions and Writings of Milton. He considers that English 
blank verse is derived from the Italian ; that it admits hyper- 
metric syllables both after the caesura (or section) and at the 
end of the line ; that Milton further borrowed from the Italian 
poets the double trochee at the beginning of the line as well 
as after the caesura, and a freer use of the anapaest, though 
abstaining from one peculiarity of Italian verse, viz. the se- 
quence iamb-trochee at the beginning of the line\ As to the 
last however Mr Keightley himself cites immediately afterwards 
two verses in which this sequence occurs 

Inclines | here to | continjue and build | up here | P. L. ii. 313 

01 10 0100 1 01 

Among I daughters | of men | the faijrest found | P. R. ii. 154 

01 1 01 010 1 

and we have already noticed other examples in treating of 
Dr Guest's ' pausing section.' 

Of the iiiitial d oubl p trof.hp p. Mr Keightley gives twenty 
examples from Milton (one or two of which might be dif- 
ferently scanned, but several might be added in their place) 
and shews how common the sequence is in Italian by quo- 
tations from the beginning of the Gerusalemme Liberata. I 
have already touched on this in reference to the line 

Uni|versal j reproach | far worse | to bear |. 
Of double trochee after caesura we have such examples as 

Crealted thee | in the | image | of God I P. L. vii. 427 

10 2 

And dust | shalt eat | all the | days of | thy life | P. L. x. 178 

10 10 

Cast wanlton eyes | on the | daughters | of men | P. R. ii. 180. 

10 2 

Dante and Petrarch are cited as using the same sequence 
in Italian. 

1 Compare R. W. Evans Versification p. 84 " the trochee is admitted by 
the Italian into every foot but the last, and even two are allowed to stand 
together, as in the very first line of Tasso's epic. Milton, who was deeply 
imbued with Italian poetry and had a pedantic turn, accordingly admits it 
indiscriminately as in P. L. 

Shoots in\visi\h\e vir|tue e'en | to the deep | iii. 587. 

In the I visions \ of God | . It was | a hill | xi. 377. 

Thy ling|ering, or | with one | stroke of \ his dart | ii. 702." 



NATURAL OR A-POSTEKIORI SYSTEM. 77 

Of the hypermetr ic_sxUable--at---th»--6aesura the following 
examples are given. I do not object to this, but have divided 
them below so as to shew that it is possible to scan them 
otherwise. 

Before | thy fel|lows, am[bitious | to win | P. L. vi. 160 

2 

With their | bright lu|minaries|, that set | and rose | P.Z.vii.385 

1 

Thy conjdescenfsion, and | shall be hon|oured ev(er. P. Z. vni.649 

1 2 

That cru|el serjpent. On me | exerlcise not | P. L. x. 927 

2 10 

Seemed their | petit|ion, than | when th' anjcient pair | P.L.xi. 10 

oil 2 

For in | those days | might on|ly shall be | admired | ih. 689. 

1 

Mr Keightley even admits a hypermetric syllable at the 
semicaesura, as 

On Lemjnos | the Aegdejan isle |. Thus they | relate | P. L. i. 746 

which is usually and, I think, correctly scanned 

On Lemjnos th' Ae|gean isle | thus they | relate]. 

His second example is even less appropriate. I scan it 

Who sees | theel and what | is one? | who should'st | be seen | P.Z.ix. 546. 



CHAPTER VI. 

METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS, 

Those who have paid little attention to the subject of metre 
will probably think it a very easy matter to settle off-hand 
the metre of any verse which is submitted to them. Starting 
with the four simple metres, they are apt to assume that, if 
a verse commences with an accented followed by an unaccented 
syllable, it must be trochaic; if it commences with an unac- 
cented followed by an accented syllable, iambic; if with an 
accented' followed by two unaccented syllables, dactylic; if 
with two unaccented syllables followed by an accented syllable, 
anapaestic. But the most cursory examination of any dozen 
lines of a poem written in some recognized metre, such as 
Paradise Lost, would be sufficient to prove their error. Take 
for instance such a line as P. L. i. 12 

Fast by the oracle of God. I thence 

This seems to begin with two dactyls ; why should it not be 
called dactylic ? Because we know that the poem from 
which it is taken is written in five-foot iambic ; and therefore 
this line must be iambic, and must contain five feet. Dividing 
it into five pairs of syllables, we find that instead of beginning 
with two dactyls, it begins with a trochee followed by an iamb. 
And a little further examination will shew that this is no 
isolated case, that somewhere about one-sixth of Milton's 
iambic lines commence with a trochee. A smaller number 
commence with a dactyl, as i. 87 

Myriads | though bright | , if he | whom mujtual league | 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 79 

and a still smaller with anapaest as 

P. L. IV. 2 The Apocfalypse | , heard cry | in Heaven [ aloud | 
P. R. II. 234 No advanjtage, and | his strength | as oft | assay | 
P. L. II. 880 With impet|uous | recoil | and jarlring sound | ; 

unless we consider this last to begin with a trochee and dactyl, 
which perhaps gives a more telling rhythm. 

It is plain therefore that the position of the accent in the 
first three syllables is no criterion as to the metre of the line. 
The inference which might be drawn from the 1st foot has 
to be corrected by our knowledge of the general metre of the 
poem. It is not even safe to judge of the metre from the first 
two feet, for (as we have seen in p. 76), some iambic lines 
begin with two trochees. Nor again can we rely upon the 
close of the line as giving an infallible criterion of the metre. 
The line is not necessarily trochaic because it ends with an 
accented followed by an unaccented syllable, nor iambic be- 
cause it ends with an unaccented followed by an accented 
syllable. On the contrary, one very common species of the 
iambic line has the feminine ending, that is, closes with a hyper- 
metrical unaccented syllable. And thus we find iambic lines 
which might be said both to begin and end with a trochee, 
as P. L. I. 263 

Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. 

Or take such a line as 

Beautiful Paris, evil-hearted Paris. 

Here every foot seems to be a trochee except the 1st, which is 
a dactyl or extended trochee, bearing the same relation to the 
trochee proper as the anapaest to the iamb. Yet none of us 
would hesitate to call it iambic and divide accordingly, 

Beauti|ful Par|is, e|vil-hear|ted Par(is, 

because it occurs in a well-known heroic poem. 

Conversely the commonest species of trochaic drops its final 
syllable, that is, suffers truncation, as in 

Hark the | herald | angels j sing | . 



80 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Beside the feminine iambic, we find specimens of the mas- 
culine form closing with a trochee (like the classical scazon) 
as in the following from Morris' Jason, 

III. 54 About I this keel | that ye | are now | lacking | 

1 

III. 292 With whom | Alcmejna played | but nought | witting I 

1 

III. 549 Anoth|er sun | shine on | this fair | city | 

1 

II. 641 Still flew I on toward | the east | no wit | heeding | 

1 

I. 153 And put | the child | before | him but | Cheiron \ 

1 

See examples of the same rhythm quoted from Surrey below, 
pp. 159, 160. Conversely we find specimens of a trochaic line 
beginning with an iamb in Tennyson's Dirge, 

The frail | bluebell | [jeereth | over | 

01 20 10 10 



Shelley's Euganean Hills, 
Skylark, 



The frail | bark of | this lone | being | 

01 20 11 10 



Invocation, 



The blue | deep thou | wingest 

1 2 2 

The pale | purple | even | 

1 2 2 



The fresh ] earth in | new leaves ] drest 

1 2 2 1 2 



We have seen that an unaccented syllable may be added 
at the end of an iambic line or cut off from the end of a 
trochaic line. Does the beginning of the line admit of the 
same licenses ? We are told that it is so in Chaucer. Prof. 
Skeat (in his edition of the Prioress's Tale etc. p. lxiii) cites 
the following example of initial truncation, making a mono- 
syllabic 1st foot : 

Bi/ I a may|de lyk | to her | statu(rfe 
Til I wel ny j the day | bigan | to sprin(g6 
Lig/u\\j for | to play | and walk | on fo(t6 
BiU I a gov|emour | wyly | and wys j 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 81 

And Dr Morris (in his edition of the Prologue etc. p. XLlli) 
cites 

In I a gowne | of fal|dyng to | the kne | 
Now i it schy|neth now j it rey|neth fast | 

Other examples may be found in Schipper's Englische Metrik, 
Vol. L p. 462. 

This license is found in the heroic metre as late as Marlowe, 
compare Tamhurlaine (Dyce, Vol. il. p. 48) 

iSarJbarous | and blood ly Tamjburlaine | 
p. 189 Co«(quer sack | and ut|terly | consume | 

and see below, pp. 162, 163. 

The truncation just spoken of is, I think, now obsolete in the 
five-foot iambic; but it is not uncommon in shorter iambic lines. 
Take for instance Marlowe's Come live with me. This is a poem 
in four-foot iambic, and regular, with the exception of the 
second line in the following verse, 

There will | I make | thee beds | of ro(ses 
And I a thoujsand fra grant po(sies 
A cap] of flowers and | a kir(tle 
Embroi dered all | with leaves | of myr(tle. 

In The Passions of Collins, a four-foot iambic poem of 118 
lines, there are 12 which suffer truncation. In Wordsworth's 
great ode, out of 200 iambic and anapaestic lines of varying 
length, there are five which are trochaic in form, i.e. which 
suffer initial truncation. 

Tennyson's Lady Clara Vere de Vere is in eight-line stanzas 
of four-foot iambic, perfectly regular with the exception of the 
first line of the stanza, which only once has the full number of 
syllables 

I know I you Cla|ra Vere | de Vere | , 

suffering initial truncation in the other stanzas, as 

Trust ! me Clalra Vere | de Vere | . 

The same poet's Arabian Nights consists of fourteen stanzas 
of ten lines in four-foot iambic, followed by a three-foot feminine 
refrain 

Of good I Haroun | Alras(chid 

M. M. 6 



82 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

One line, and I think one line only in the whole, suffers initial 

truncation 

Black i the gar | den bowers | and grots | 
Slumbered | the 8ol|emn palms | were ranged | 
Above I unwoo'd | of sumjmer wind | . 

The Lay of the Last Minstrel is in the same metre with frequent 
anapaestic substitution. In Canto I. Stanza 5, the 3rd and 5th 
lines are truncated : 

Ten squires | ten yeo|men mail-lclad men | 
Waited | the beck ] of the warjders ten | 
Thir\ty steeds | both fleet ] and white | 
Stood sad|dled in sta|ble day | and night | 
Barbed \ with frontjlet of steel | I trow I 

Also in Stanza 29, 

Nev\er heavjier man | and horse | 
Stemmed j a midlnight torlrent's force | 
The warlrior's verly plume | I say ] 
Was dag|gled by | the dash|ing spray | 

Milton's Hymn on the Nativity is written in iambic lines con- 
taining from three to six feet. Occasionally we find a mono- 
syllabic first-foot. 

Full lit|tle thought | they then | 

That I the migh|ty Pan | 

Was kind|ly come | to live | with them | below | . 

When I such mu(8ic sweet | 

Their hearts | and ears | did greet | 

As nev|er was | by mor|tal fin|ger strook | . 

And then | at last | our bliss | 

Full j and per | feet is | . 

Nor all I the Gods | beside | 

Long\eT dare | abide | . 

So Shirley {Golden Treasury, p. 59), 

Devour|ing Fam ine, Plague, | and War | 
Each ajble to [ undo | mankind | 
Death's serjvile emissaries are | 
Nor I to these | alone | confined | . 

Fair Helen (G. T. p. 87), 

I wish ] I were | where Hel en lies | 
Night I and day | on me | she cries | 
O that ] I were | where Hel|en lies | 
On fair | Kirkcon|uel lea | . 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 83 

Cowper's Royal George, 

Weigh \ the ves|sel up | 
Once dread|ed by | our foes | 

And min|gle with | the cup | 
The tear | that Eng|land owes | . 

Christdbel is written in four-foot iambic and anapaestic lines, 
both of which suffer initial truncation. Thus 

Sir Lejoline | the Bar|on rich | 

Hath I a toothjless masltifif bitch | 

From I her ken|nel beneath | the rock | 

She ma|keth anslwer to |_the clock | 

Four I for the quarjters and twelve | for the hour | 

Ev\ev and aye | by sun | and shower | . 

Is I the night | chilly | and dark | 

The night | is chil|ly but | not dark | 

They steal | their way | from stair j to stair | 

Now I in glim|mer and now | in gloom | . 

The chamlber carved | so cur|iously | 

Carved \ with fig|ures strange | and sweet | 

All I made out | of the carlver's brain | . 

It may be asked, however, why the lines classed as truncated 
iambic should not be treated either as anapaestic or as truncated 
trochaic. If we met with the following lines apart from the 
context we should naturally scan them as anapaests ; why not 
adhere to this more natural scansion ? e.g. 

That the migh|ty Pan | . 
When such mulsic sweet | . 
Hath a tooth|less mastiff bitch | 
From her kenjnel beneath | the rock | . 

The answer is (1) that Milton's Hymn is not anapaestic nor in 
any way irregular. It is composed in verses of eight lines, the 
1st, 2nd, 4th, and .5th lines consisting of three iambic feet, 
the 3rd and 6th of five, the 7th of four, and the 8th of six. 
Even if we called the two lines just cited anapaestic, we should 
hardly venture to say the same of 

Longler dare | abide | . 
(2) Christdbel no doubt admits lines of which the rhythm is 
trisyllabic; but, as Coleridge himself tells us that the accents 
are four, though the syllables vary from seven to twelve, this 

6—2 



84 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

prevents us from scanning the lines quoted as anapaestic. In 
any case it would be difficult to make an anapaestic line out of 
Is I the night I chilly | and dark I . 

10 1 2 1 

But, if they cannot be treated as anapaestic, why should they 
not be called truncated trochaics ? Why may not the poet 
have chosen to vary his iambic lines with an occasional trochaic? 
No doubt this is a possible explanation in some of the instances, 

such as 

And a | thousand ] fragrant | posies | 
Thirty | steeds both | fleet and | white | . 

These read naturally as trochaics. But take 

Now in I glimmer and | now in | gloom | 
Barbed with | frontlet of | steel I | trow | 
Is the night chilly and dark 

The two former would give us a dactyl in the 2nd foot, which 
is rare in trochaic metre, and the last simply refuses to be 
treated as a trochaic at all. 

Far more common however is the omission of one or both 
of the unaccented syllables of the anapaest. Iamb for anapaest 
is usual in all the feet of an anapaestic line, but in the 1st foot 
a monosyllable is also allowed. Thus in the following verses 
from the Burial of Sir John Moore, consisting of four anapaests 
with alternate masculine and feminine endings, there are two 
monosyllabic feet and five iambs, which I have printed in 
italics. 

Few I and short \ were the prayers | we said \ 

And we spoke | not a word | of sor(row 
But we stead fastly gazed | on the face I of the dead | 

And we bit|terly thought | of the mor(row. 
Light\\y they'll talk | of the spi|rit that's gone | 

And o^er \ his cold ash es upbraid (him, 
But te|tle he'll wreck | if they let | him sleep on | 
In the grave | where a Brit|on has laid (him. 

So in Byron, 

Thou I who art bear|ing my buck|ler and bow | 
Should the sol|diers of Saul | look away | from the foe | 
Stretch I me that mo|ment in blood | at thy feet | 
Mine \ be the doom I which they dared [ not to meet | , 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 85 

And Swinburne (Erechtheus), 

1. 139 Fair fort|ress and fost|ress of sons | born free | 

Who stand | in her sight | and in thine | sun [ 
Slaves I of no | man sub |j act of none | 

1. 95 Sun I that has light|ened and loosed | by thy might | 
0\cea,n and earth | from the lord|ship of night | 
Quickemng with vis|ion his eye | that was veiled | 
Fresh\emng the force | in her heart | that had failed ] 
That sis|ter fettered and blindied broth(er 
Should have sight | by thy grace | and delight | of each oth(er. 

Matthew Arnold {Heine's Grrave), 

That I was Hei|ne, and we | 
Mi/r\iads who live | who have died | 
What I are we all | but a mood | 
A singlle mood | of the life | 
Of the Be|ing in whom | we exist ? | 

Elliott (Lament for Flodden), 

I've heard | them liljting at our | ewe milk(ing 

Zass|es a' HI 'ting before | dawn of day | 
Bvit now I they are moan|ing on il|ka green loan(ing 

The Flowers | of the For; est are a' i wede away ] . 

Other examples will be found in the chapters on Classifi- 
cation of Metres. 

Corresponding to the initial truncation of the anapaestic 
line is the final truncation of the dactylic line, as in 

Take her up | tenderly | 
Lift her with | care 
Fashioned so | slenderly | 
Young and so | fair. 
Pibroch of | Donuil Dhu [ 

Pibroch of | Donuil 
Wake thy wild | voice anew | 

Summon Clan | Conuil. 

Brightest and | best of the | sons of the | morning 
Dawn on our | darkness and | lend us thine | aid 

Star of the | east the hor|izon a,6.\oming 
Guide where the | infant Re|deemer is | laid. 

It may be asked what reason have we for classifying as 
anapaestic such a line as 

Bright I be the place | of thy soul | 



86 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

and as dactylic 

Lift her with | care | 

since it is plain that the former might be regarded as made up 
of two dactyls and a long syllable (truncated dactylic), and the 
latter of a long syllable followed by an anapaest (truncated 
anapaestic). The answer is that these ambiguous or meta- 
morphous lines must be interpreted by others in the same 
poem, where the strict law of the metre is observed, such as 

In the orbs | of the blesjsed to shine | . 

Take her up | tenderly | 
There are no doubt poems composed in a mixed metre, in 
which the rhythmical effect is produced by the juxtaposition 
of contrasted metres, say, trochaic and anapaestic ; but none 
could say there was this contrasted eflfect in the poems above 
cited. The rhythm is felt to be the same throughout. 

But truncation is not only practised at the beginning of the 
iambic and anapaestic line, and at the end of the trochaic and 
dactylic ; it is also found in the interior of the line itself Thus 
Break, Break, Break is a somewhat irregular poem, the pre- 
vailing rhythm of which is three-foot anapaest, but in two 
verses, the three anapaests are represented by these three long 
accented syllables. 

Kingsley has internal truncation in his 4-foot anapaestic 

Clear | and cool | clear | and cool | 
By laughling shal|low and dream|ing pool | . 

Dank I and foul | dank | and foul | 
By the smo|ky town | in its murky cowl | . 

Strong \ and free | strong | and free | 
The flood | gates are o|pen away | to the sea | . 

And Shelley in his Address to Night, the metre of which is 
generally anapaestic with iambic substitution, has a monosyllable 
for the anapaest in the 3rd foot of the 1st and 3rd of the follow- 
ing lines 

And the wea|ry day | turned j to his rest | 

Lingjering like | an un (loved guest | 

Thy broth I er Death | came \ and cried | 

Wouldst I thou me | ? 

The sweet | child Sleep | the fil|my-eyed | 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 87 

I take the three next examples from Dr Guest. The first is 
truncated trochaic, which undergoes internal, as well as final 
truncation, in the 2nd and 7th lines. 

On the I ground | 

Sleep I sound | 

I'll aplply I 

To your | eye | 
Gentle | lover | reme|dy | . 

When thou | wak'st | 

Thou I tak'st | 

True de|light | 

In the I sight | 
Of thy I former | lady's | eye | 

The second, from Burns, is four-foot iambic; it suffers in- 
ternal truncation in the 1st and 3rd lines. 

The sun I blinks blithe | on yon | tovm \ 
And on | yon bonjnie braes | of Ayr I 
But my I delight | in yon | town \ 
And dea|rest bliss | is TiUcy fair | . 

The third is from Moore, written in four-foot and two-foot 
iambic. Internal truncation will be found in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 
6th and 8th lines. 

The day | had sunk | in dim | showers \ 

But mid I night now | with lusjtre meek | 
lUulmined all | the pale \ flowers \ 

Like hope | upon | a mourlner's cheek | . 

I said I while \ 

The moon's | smile \ 
Played o'er ] a stream | in dimpjling bliss | 

The moon | looks \ 

On majny brooks | 
The brook | can see | no moon | but this | . 

We may add the following from Shakespeare : 

For love | is crow|ned with | the prime | 
In spring | time \ 
The on|ly pret|ty ring | time \ 
When birds | do sing | 
Hey ding | a ding | 
Sweet lov ers love | the spring | , 



88 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

and this from Scott, 

March, I march, \ Ettrick and | Teviotdale, | 
Why the deil | dinna ye march | forward in | order 

where the corresponding lines of the next verse 

Come from the | hills where your | hirsels are | grazing | 
Come from the | glen of the | buck and the | roe | 

shew that the monosyllables march march represent dactyls, and 
also that Teviotdale and dinna ye march must be contracted 
into trisyllables. 

But the first foot is not only liable to truncation of un- 
accented syllables, when such precede the accent according to 
the law of the metre, as in iambic and anapaestic poems ; it 
may also admit anacrusis, i.e. have an unaccented syllable pre- 
fixed to the accent, where that should naturally come first, as 
in trochaic and dactylic poems. Thus in Keats' Realm of 
Fancy, a four-foot trochaic poem of 94 lines, there are 7 which 
begin with a hypermetrical unaccented syllable, as 

Thou shalt | at one | glance be|hold | 
The) daisy | and the | marylgold | 

In his Ode on the Poets out of 42 lines there are 3 which 
have the anacrusis. 

In Shelley's Skylark the prevailing metre is trochaic, but 
we find 

What thou I art we | know not | 

What is I most like | thee | 
From) rainbow | clouds there | flow not | 
Drops so I bright to | see | 

So in Duncan Gray, 

Something | in her | bosom | wrings | 

For re|lief a | sigh she | brings | 

And) her | een they | spak sic | things | , 

and Tennyson's Lilian, 

Praying | all I | can | 
If) prayers | will not | hush thee | 

Airy | Lili|an | 
Like a | rose-leaf | I will | crush thee | 

Fairy | Lili|an | . 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 89 

It is evident that, when the common truncated trochaic has 
a hypermetrical syllable prefixed, it becomes undistinguishable 
from a complete iambic line, just as a truncated iambic, par- 
ticularly if it has a feminine ending, takes the form of a trochaic. 
Since from either side, then, the one can so easily pass into the 
other, it is no wonder that we find poems consisting in nearly 
equal proportions of iambic and trochaic lines, in which probably 
neither the poet nor the reader is conscious of a change of 
metre. Such poems are L' Allegro and II Penseroso. Starting 
with the regular metre in line 11 of the former, we have, in the 
next fifty lines, an equal number of trochaic and iambic lines. 
It is to be noticed also that the iambic line often either begins 
with an accented, or ends with an unaccented syllable, as 

And at \ my win|dow bids | good mor(row 
Scatters | the rear | of darkjness thin | . 

The hypermetrical syllable in trochaic metre is thus always 
capable of being explained away as an intentional change to 
iambic, but a similar explanation would be very harsh in dac- 
tylic metre, such as the following. 

Come away | come away | 

Hark to the \ summons | 
Come in your | war array | 

Gentles and | commons. | 
Come from deep | glen and | 

From) mountain so | rocky | 
The) war-pipe and | pennon | 

Are) at Inverjlochy | . 

There are many examples in Kingsley's Longbeard's Saga. 

White were the | moorlands | 
And) frozen belfore her | 
Green were the | moorlands | 
And) blooming be|hind her | . 
Shaking the | southwind | 
J)round in the | birches | 
^)waking the | throstles | . 
This) day at the | Wendel's hands | 
Eagles must | tear them i 
Their) mother thrall|-weary j 
Must) grind for the | Wendels | . 



90 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

High in Val|halla | 
A) window stands | open | 
Its) sill is the | snowpeaks | 
Its) posts are the | waterspouts | 
Storm wrack its | lintel | . 

It will be observed that, where a line begins with the hyper- 
metrical syllable, the preceding line frequently ends with a 
trochee for dactyl, so that the effect is simply to complete the 
dactylic rhythm. This is not however the case in the following 
passage from Christabel, where two dactylic lines are interposed 
between anapaests. 

And foundst | a bright la|dy surjmsslingly fair | 
And) didst bring her | home with thee | ^ 
In) love and in | charity | 

To shield | her and sheljter her from | the night air | 

nor in the following from Hood's Bridge of Sighs, where in two 
of the lines anacrusis follows a complete daciyl at the end of 
the previous line, 

^)las for the | rarity | 
Of) Christian | charity | 
■ Under the | sun | 
it was I pitiful | 
Near a whole | city full | 
Home there was | none | 
Dreadfully | staring | 
Thro) muddy im|purity | 
As) when with the | daring | 
Last) look of deslpalring | 
Fixed on fujturity | . 

Sometimes we find even two hypermetrical syllables, when 
the final dactyl of the preceding line is represented by a long 
syllable, thus passing into anapaestic rhythm, unless we are to 
regard this as a case of ' scriptorial disguise ' treated of below. 

The) bleak wind of | March | 
Made her) tremble and | shiver | 
But) not the dark | arch | 
I^or the) black flowing | river | 

^ This and the following line are usually printed together, but the rhyme 
shews that they should be separated, just as much as the short lines preceding, 
' But vainly thou warrest, For this is alone in,' etc. 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 91 

So ia the 3rd verse of Pibroch of Donuil Dhu the dactylic 
rhythm of the other verses is changed into the anapaestic, 

Leave untend|ed the herd | 

The flock | without shel(ter 
Leave the corpse | uninterr'd | 

The bride | at the al(tar. 

I presume without any deliberate intention on the part of the 
poet. 

To take now a general view of the licenses or irregularities 
admitted, we find, in trochaic, addition of an unaccented syllable 
at the beginning, dropping of an unaccented syllable at the end, 
and substitution of iamb or dactyl in the first foot (rarely in 
others), giving rise to lines of pure iambic form, as "but let 
them rave," or of strong dactylic colouring, as " half invisible to 
the view." On the other hand, in iambic, we find addition of 
an unaccented syllable at the end, dropping of an unaccented 
syllable at the beginning, with trochaic and anapaestic substitu- 
tion, giving rise to lines of pure trochaic form, as " Up there 
came a flower," or the anapaestic " In there came old Alice the 
nurse." So in anapaestic we have dropping of unaccented 
syllables at the beginning, and addition of an unaccented 
syllable at the end, with iambic substitution ; in dactylic, 
dropping of unaccented syllables at the end, and addition of an 
unaccented syllable at the beginning, with trochaic substitution. 
The general principle may be thus laid down, that one or two 
unaccented syllables preceding the initial accent or following 
the final accent of the line are non-essential to the rhythm, 
and may be added or omitted without necessarily changing the 
metre. 

So far we have considered cases in which one of the four 
principal metres has assumed the appearance of another. We 
will now proceed to examine cases in which the disguise 
assumed is that of the amphibrach. Dr Abbott {English Lessons, 
p. 212) reads Browning's line as an amphibrach, 

Dirck galloped | I galloped | we galloped | all three j 

Prof. Bain (Eng. Gomp. p. 239) does the same with 

There came to | the shore a | poor exile ] of Erin | 



92 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

and Mr Higginson {Eng. Gramm. p. 164) with 

Distracted | with care I 

For Phyllis | the fair | , 

Since nothing | could move her ] 

Poor Damon | her lover | . 

Probably most readers would on a first reading pronounce the 
same o£ thq following lines from Christabel, 

That in the | dim forest | 
Thou heardst a | low moaning | 
And foundst a | bright lady | sutpassinglly fair | 

and from Southey's Lodore, 

Collecting | projecting | 

Receding | and speeding | 
Dividing | and gliding | and sliding | 
Retreating | and beating | and meeting | and sheeting | . 

But a more careful examination will, I think, in each case 
shew that the normal metre is anapaestic. It would evidently 
be impossible to read other lines from Browning's Good News 
from Ghent as amphibrach s, e.g. 

Not a word | to each oth|er we kept | the great pace | 
Neck by neck | stride by stride | never chang|ing our place | 

Hence the apparent amphibrach must be divided as follows 

Dirck gal|loped I gal|loped we gal|loped all three | 

making anap. 4 instead of amphib. 4. The fact is, wherever 
there is a complete anapaestic line, with iambic substitution in 
the first foot, it will be possible to read it as an amphibrach 
truncated at the end. In the same way we should divide 

There came | to the shore | a poor exjile of E(rin. 

The lines beginning ' Distracted with care ' are shewn to be 
anapaestic by those which follow almost immediately. 

To a pre|cipice goes | 
Where a leap | from above | 
Would soon fin|ish his woes | . 

The lines from Christabel are preceded by the manifestly 
anapaestic 

In the touch | of this bo|som there lur|keth a spell | 
Which is lord | of thy ut|terance, Chrisjtabel | . 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 93 

As to Lodore, the general rhythm is undoubtedly anapaestic; 
thus in the 1st stanza we have lines like 

With its rush | and its roar | 

As man|y a time | 

They had seen | it before | . 

In the 2nd 

It runs I and it creeps | 
For a while | till it sleeps | 
In its own | little lake | . 
And thence j at depar(ting 
Awake|niiig and star(ting 
It rmis I through the reeds | 
And away | it proceeds | 

where the two middle lines might also be read as amphibrachs. 
In the 3rd stanza we have 

Ri|sing and leap(ing 

Sinkjing and creep(ing 

* * * 

Around | and around | 
With endlless rebound | 

* * * 

Diz|zying and deaf|ening the ear | with its sound | . 

And the last stanza ends 

And so I never end|ing but al|ways descend(ing 
Sounds and nio|tions for ev|er and evler are blend(ing, 
All at once | and all o'er | with a migh|ty uproar \ 
And this | way the wa|ter comes down | at Lodore | . 

1 think therefore that it is natural to scan the ambiguous lines 
as anapaests with feminine ending, thus 

Collect|ing project(ing. Anap. 2 

Divi|ding and gli|ding and sli(ding. Anap. 3. 

Perhaps the following lines from Shakespeare have as much 
right to be called amphibrachs as any we can find ; 

Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly ; 
Then, heigh ho ! the holly ! 
This life is most jolly. 

But looking at the preceding line, which I should divide 

Heigh ho ! | sing heigh ho ! | unto | the green hol(ly, 

I think it is best to treat all as anapaestic. 



94 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

There remains one other method of disguising metre, which 
I may call the scriptorial, when either verse is written as prose, 
of which Dickens supplies the most marked examples (see 
Abbott, Lessons, § 61), or prose as verse, of which plentiful 
examples may be found in Walt Whitman ; or again when, 
though verse is printed as verse, the lines are not divided 
in accordance with the actual metre employed. We have had 
an instance of such mis-division in Coleridge's Christabel (see 
above p. 90). Compare also what is said below (p. 154) on the 
line usually printed 

Singing to welcome the pilgrims of the night. 



The signs + and - may be conveniently used to denote the addition or 
omission of unaccented syllables whether at the beginning or the end of the 
verse. Thus the feminine heroic 

Cromwell | I charge | thee fling | away | ambi(tion 

which shews an extra syllable after the last bar, would be classed as iamb. 5 + . 
. The truncated trochaic 

Come not | here A 

may be marked with a caret after the last accent, and classed as troch. 2 - . 

A hypermetrical syllable at the beginning of the verse may be marked with 
a curved line following, as in the line from Lilian 

She) looking | through and | through me | 

which would be classed as troch. + 3 ; while that from the Deserted Hotue 
would receive both marks, 

So) frequent | on its | hinge be|fore A 

and be classed as troch. + 4 - . Conversely an iambic verse, which suffers 
truncation at the beginning and has a feminine ending, would be thas 
written 

A Subltle-thonghtjed myr|iad mind(ed 

and described as iamb. - 4 + . 

In the trisyllabic metres, where there is often a loss of two unaccented 
syllables, the mark may be doubled : thus the verses 

A A Few I and short | were the prayers | we said | 
And we spoke | not a word | of sor(row 



METRICAL METAMORPHOSIS. 95 

might be described as anap. = 4t and 3 + . 

Dawn on our | darkness and | lend us thine | aid A A 

might be described as dact. 4 = . 

Verses with hypermetrical syllables may be conveniently divided into prae- 
hypermetrical and post-hypermetrical, according as the extra syllable comes at 
the beginning or end ; but, as the latter are generally known as feminine lines, 
I shall use hypermetrical in a special sense, of a verse which has the extra 
syllable at the beginning. 



CHAPTER VII. 

EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL 
SYSTEMS'. 

Mr Robert Bridges in his book entitled Milton s Prosody 
(Oxf. 1893) has given a careful and instructive study of the 
peculiarities of Milton's blank verse and of the choruses in 
Samson Agonistes. He classifies the divergences from typical 
blank verse under four heads, as follows: 

A. Supernumerary Syllables, which he subdivides into (1) 
Extra-metrical Syllables at the end^ or in the middle of the 
line, and (2) Elided Syllables. Of medial extra syllables he 
gives examples from Gomus, but says that it does not occur in 
P. L., such lines as 

Departed from (thee); and thou resemblest now. iv. 839. 
Of high collateral glo(ry) : Him thrones and powers, x. 86. 

being better explained on the principle of Elision. 

The analogy of the Greek would lead most persons to 
understand by this term the entire disappearance of the first 
vowel in a sequence of two vowel sounds, but Mr Bridges 
expressly says that it is not meant ' to imply that anything is 
cut off, or lost, or not pronounced ' (p. 8), and again ' It has 
been taken by some that I meant that the elided syllable 
should be cut out of the pronunciation ; but I chose the term, 
because I wished not to imply any theory of prosody as to how 
the supernumerary syllables were to be accounted for in rhythm. 

^ Read before the Philological Society. 

2 On p. 7 he gives examples from P. L, of two extra syllables at the end of 
the line ; but in p. 41 says that, though such a thing is possible in the looser 
metre of Samson, ' it would be quite out of the question in P. L., though a 
few lines might seem to support it.' 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS, 97 

I did not think that there could be any doubt as to whether 
they should be pronounced.' ' Though Milton printed th' 
Almighty &c., it cannot be supposed that he wished it to be 
so pronounced ' (p. 49). We are thus to understand the term 
'elision' as covering three different explanations, which I 
have distinguished by the terms elision (in the strict sense), 
slurring, and trisyllabic feet : or rather 'since it is not intended 
to imply that anything is cut off or not pronounced,' we have 
simply to consider the two latter alternatives. And so we find 
Mr Bridges (in p. 48) allowing that 'the theory of trisyllabic 
feet best suits' the lines quoted above, as well as such 
lines as 

Innumerable. As when the potent rod i. 338 
Of depth immeasurable. Anon they move i. 549 

though ' as a question of Miltonic prosody they are all examples 
of elision^' ' In cases where there is doubt, it is better to regard 
the syllable as extrametrical : the test is this, that if it is 
extrametrical, it does not signify to the ear whether it is long 
or short, whereas in a trisyllabic foot it must be short.' 

I cannot but think that considerable confusion is caused by 
this attempt to treat the trisyllabic foot merely as a species of 

^ In p. 27 however he seems to hold to the strict theory of elision. Quoting 

S. A. 651 

The close of all my miseries and the balm 

he says that " elsewhere Milton always insists on all the three syllables of the 
word 'misery,' which is the more expressive pronunciation of the word." But 
surely, however we scan the line, whether we end the 4th foot with ' miseries ' 
making the 5th foot trisyllabic, or make the 4th foot trisyllabic closing it with 
'and,' the pronunciation of 'miseries' is precisely the same as in every other 
line where it occurs. I am inclined to make the last foot trisyllabic, as giving 
a more pathetic rhythm, but Mr Bridges (p. 29) speaks of "a trisyllabic foot in 
the 5th place not resoluble by the fictions" as " without parallel in all the verse 
of P. L., P. P., and S. A." Again in p. 34 there is a discussion as to the line 

Oft on a plat of rising ground 

where it is said that it reads as if it began with a dactyl, though there is no 
"difference of opinion as to its metrical device" (meaning, I suppose, its 
scansion), "but if we substitute 'softly' for 'oft on,' it is clear that, according as 
we admit or refuse an elision of the open y before the a, we have a seven- 
syllable line with falling stress throughout, or an eight-syllable line of rising 
stress with the first foot inverted." It is hard to reconcile this with his pre- 
vious explanation of the term 'elision.' 

M. M. 7 



98 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

elision \ especially as Mr Bridges confesses that * true dactylic 
verse, or verse made of true trisyllabic units, was quite common 
in Milton's time ' (p. 45), ' that in all the best blank verse the 
trisyllabic feet are made up almost exclusively of open vowels 
or vowels separated by liquids ; and that after these the most 
frequent condition is that of short i....l think it impossible 
to doubt that in P. L. Milton purposely excluded all trisyllabic 
feet but those made by open vowels and the three liquids, and 
that he afterwards relaxed this rule to admit m and short *,' 
always rejecting such licences as 

Like to I a vag|abond flag | upon I the stream I Ant. Cleop. i. 4. 

1 

To try I thy el|oquence, now I 'tis time I : dispatch I ib. iii. 10^. 

2 

I feel some doubt as to what would be Mr Bridges' explana- 
tion of a line such as the following 

That cruel ser|pent. On me | exercise most. P. L. x. 927. 

I should be inclined to treat it myself as containing an 
extrametrical syllable, but he has laid down the rule that this 
is not allowed in P. L. (p. 7). Nor can the 3rd foot be 
trisyllabic, since that is only permitted under the above-stated 
limitations. It is impossible to elide the emphatic me before 
exercise^ and thus the only remaining course is to scan the 
latter half of the line 

on I me ex|ercise most | 

2 10 1 

with a final anapaest, but this would be far harsher than the 
examples taken from Shakespeare's Antony, which we were told 
were un-Miltonic. 

B. We go on now to the 2nd variety admitted by Milton, 
that connected with the number of stresses. Of these only 
two kinds are specified, (1) lines with four, (2) lines with three 
stresses ; excess^ in the number of stresses being altogether 
ignored, though it is just as common as defect, compare 

^ In p. 45 he even uses the word ' contraction ' to explain the metre of 

But now I he's gone |, and my | idol\atrous fan(cy. All's Well, i, 1. 91. 

^ p. 31. The limitations mentioned in the use of the trisyllabic foot are just 
those which in p. 8 foil, are said to goTem the use of elision. 

' In p. 56 however he recognizes the occurrence of a spondee following two 
unstressed syllables. 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 99 

Say Miise | their names | then known | who first | who last |. 

21 1 11 2121 

P. L. I. 376. 
Rocks, caves, | lakes, fens, | bogs, dens, I and shades | of night |. 

2 2 22 220101 

ib. II. 621. 

C The third variation arises from inversion of rhythm. 
Examples of inversion in every foot are given and also examples 
of double inversion in the 1st and 2nd, the 3rd and 4th, and 
2nd and 4th foot. In the note on p. 22 we read that ' Milton 
came to scan his verses one way and read them in another.' I 
have insisted upon it as a general rule that scanning is not to 
fetter the reading, but I cannot think the examples here given 
are well chosen. I should prefer to read, as well as scan, 

Of rain|bows and | starry eyes. | The wa|ters thus | P. L. vii. 446. 

rather than to read with him the second foot as a trisyllabic 
and the 3rd foot as a regular iamb. My reason is that I think 
a pause should be made both before and after and, so as to 
emphasize starry, which would make it difficult to treat the 
2nd foot as an anapaest. 

His second example he reads thus 

Shoots in|visible | virtue \ even to | the deep | P. L. in. 568. 

which would give a falling rhythm in four feet. I do not see 
why we might not follow the scansion given in p. 13 for the 
first three feet 

Shoots in]visi|ble virltue even to | the deep | 

but, instead of his 4th foot, which is simply a receptacle for 
syllables otherwise unaccounted for, I should read 

vir|tue e'en | to the deep |. 

10 1 

D. A fourth source of variation is in the position of the 
caesura or break in the verse, of which Mr Bridges gives 
examples after every syllable. 

The next chapter deals with Milton's later metre as illus- 
trated by the P. R, and Samson. The comparison of this with 
that of P. L. shews that he ' did not think it worth while to 

7—2 



100 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

keep strictly to his laws of elision, but that he approved of the 
great rhythmical experiments he had made, and extended 
these ' (p. 26). As examples of ' elision ' — what I should rather 
call trisyllabic feet — we find 

Thy pol|itic maxjims or | that cum|bersoine | P. R. ill. 400. 

1 ' 

She's gone | a manlifest ser|pent by I her sting I S. A. 997. 

2 

And we may add 

Their own I destrudtion, to come | speedy | upon (them S. A. 1681. 

1 2 

Tongue-doughlty gi|ant, how I dost thou prove | me these | 

1 

S. A. 1181. 
Out, out, I hyae'iUa ! these | are thy wont]ed arts | *S'. A. 748. 

1 

[The three last might also be explained as examples of 
extrametrical syllables. Mr Bridges indeed says ' the system 
of prosody in Samson plainly forbids extrametrical syllables in 
the midst of the line, and there is certainly no other example,' 
but there seems no ground for such a statement. He is even 
driven by his theory to the impossible suggestion that, in the 
last line, ' hyaena' constitutes the 2nd foot with inverted stress 
and elision of the 1st syllable.] 

I proceed to examine the chapter on the verse of S. A. 
Mr Bridges finds in it 19 lines in falling rhythm. Several of 
these should rather, I think, be treated as anapaests. Thus 
the chorus begins (1. 115) with the 4-foot iamb, where the 
3rd foot has the accent inverted. 

This, this, is he ; softly, awhila 

Mr Bridges makes line 116 a 4-foot trochaic. 

Let us I not break | in upion him. 

But, if regarded as anapaestic, the rhythm is far more 

vigorous 

Let us not j break in | upon (him 

and corresponds better with the 3-foot iambs which follow 

As one | past hope | aban(doned 
And by | himself | given o(ver. 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 101 

I also find two anapaestic lines in 169 — 175 

iamb. 5. For him | I rec|kon not | in high | estate, 
iamb. 3. Whom long | descent | of birth | 
anap. 3+ Or the sphere | of for|tune rai(ses 

1 

iamb. 5. But thee | whose strength | while vir|tue was | her mate ( 

iamb. 3. Might have 1 subdued I the earth | 

anap. 4+ Univerjsally crowned | with highjest prai(ses. 

2 .0 1 

Also in 298 

iamb. 5. . For of ] such doc|trine ne|ver was | there school | 
anap. 2. But the heart | of the fool. 

1 1 

And 329 

iamb. 3. Old Man|oah | advise | 

anap. 3+ Forthwith I how thou ought'st | to receive (him. 

1 1 

So in chorus beginning 1. 606, where Mr Bridges treats 606, 
607, 610, 614, 618 as trochaic, I should scan as follows: 

anap. — 4^ A Oh I that torjment should not | be confined | 

10 1 

anap. 2, To the bodjy's wounds | and sores | 

2 

iamb. 4 + . With maladies | innum|erab(le 

iamb. 3. In heart, | head, breast, | and veins | 

anap. 3. But must se|cret pasjsage find | 

1 

anap. 2. To the in|most mind | 

1 

* * * 

anap. 3. As on enitrails joints | and limbs | 

1 

anap. 3. As a linglering I disease I 

1 

1. 714. anap. 2. Like a state|ly ship | 

1 

1. 1269. anap. 4. To the spir|its of just | men long | oppress'd | 

10 1 

1. 1271. anap. - 3. A Puts I invinjcible might I 

1 

1. 1280. anap. 3. And celestjial vig|our armed | 

1 



1 By the caret ( A ) and - prefixed to the number of feet is signified 
initial truncation of short syllable. 



102 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

1. 1436. anap. 2. In the camp I of Dan | . 

1 

I have some doubt about 1668, which Mr Bridges reads as 
5-foot trochaic 

While their | hearts were | jocund | and 8ub]limeA 

but the rhythm seems to be most inappropriate to the sense. 
If there were any authority for giving the Latin and Italian 
accent to jociUnd, I should take the line as composed of three 
anapaests ; otherwise I think we must scan 

anap. 4. While their hearts | were j6|cund and j sublime | 

1 

followed by anap. — 4 

A Drunk | with idol|atry drunk | with wine | 

10 2 

1686. anap. 3. And with blind|ness interjnal struck I 

10 1 

1707. anap. 4. A secjular bird I A^lges of lives I 

1 2 1' 

The following, which Mr Bridges treats as truncated tro- 
chaic, I think are better explained, on the principle referred to 
by him in p. 35, as truncated iambic, i.e. iambic with the first 
syllable omitted 

1699. iamb. -4. A Like [ that self-|begot|ten bird | 

1701. iamb. -4. A That | no seciond knows | nor third | 

1743 foil. iamb. -4. A AH | is best | though we | oft doubt j 
A What I th' unsearch|able | dispose | 
iamb. 4. Of high;est wis|dom brings | about | 

1749. iamb. - 4. A Oft | he seems ) to hide | his face | 

So 1431. iamb. -4. AOreat | among | the heath|en round | 

In p. 12 Mr Bridges proves that Milton usually pronounced 
adjectives in -able with the stress on the penultimate, but he 
allows an exception in P. L. V. 585 

Innu|merable | before [ the Almighjty throne | 

so ' capital ' and ' idolatry ' are said to be exceptions to the rule 
of ' elision ' in pp. 27, 28. 

Again he says that Milton always places the stress on the 
penultimate of words ending in -ary, but allows an exception 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 103 

in the case of 'luminary' in vii. 385. It would seem that an 
exception must also be made for ' sanctuary,' which, it is true, 
is followed by a vowel, and therefore may be considered to 
suffer ' elision/ in most of the passages where it occurs, but in 
Ps. 87. 3 we find the line 

There seat|ed is | his 8anc|tuary | 
rhyming with 

Among I the hojly moun|tains high ! . 

I think also that we should have to except ' extraordinary ' 
in the only place where it is used by Milton (8. A. 1383) 
which Mr Bridges scans 

To some|thing ex|traor|dina|ry my thoughts | 

though he shrinks very much from a trisyllabic fifth foot ' not 
resoluble by the fictions': and those who are indifferent to the 
' fictions ' will certainly condemn it as a very ugly line. Why 
may we not, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, 
suppose that Milton pronounced it as he does ' luminS,ry ' and 
' sanctuary ' and ' contrary ' (in all but one place), as Shake- 
speare also does in 

W. T. I. 2. Of headlpiece ex|traor|dinary? Lo|wer mes(ses 

1 

(where the short i disappears altogether). 

I proceed now to inquire what is meant by the ' fictions ' 
referred to. They are first mentioned in p. 22, where it is said 
that ' Milton's system in P. L. was an a.ttempt to keep blank 
verse decasyllabic by means of fictions.' Again in p. 68 we 
are told that Milton and Shakespeare threw off the syllabic 
trammels of their early style and came to determine their 
rhythm by stress. * Immediately English verse is written free 
from a numeration of syllables, it falls back on the number of 
stresses as its determining law.' ' If once the notion be got rid 
of that you must have so many syllables in a line to make a 
verse... then the stress will declare its supremacy; which... in 
Shakespeare and Milton it is burning to do.' ' The primary 
law of pure stressed verse is, that there shall never be a 
conventional or imaginary stress.' ' Coleridge proposed to wiite 



104 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

purely stressed verse in Christabel, counting the accents, not 
the syllables'; but he has not carried out his intention, and 
thus we find in him conventional stresses as in 

She majketh ans|wer id \ the clock | 
A fiirllong fr6m | the cas|tle gate | 

(p. 71) 'If the number of stresses in each line be fixed [and 
such a fixation would be the metre], and if the stresses be 
determined only by the language and its sense, and if the 
syllables which they have to carry do not over-burden them^, then 
every line may have a different rhythm.' * This is very much 
what Milton was aiming at in the lyrical parts of Samson, but 
he still sought to accomplish it by fictitious units... He wrote... 
a rhythmical stressed line and scanned it by means of fictions. 
He need not have troubled himself about the scansion at all. 
If the stressed rhythm is the beauty of the verse, it is a 
sufficient account of it.' 

I object here, first, to the use of the word ' fictions.' What 
is intended would be much better expressed by the word 
' type.' The type or law of the metre is ascertained, like a 
botanical or anatomical type, by a comparison of a large number 
of recognized examples. It is the musical air or theme on which, 
different variations are composed. It is Plato's one in the many, 
the permanent in the changeable, the persistent background in 
the mind of the poet and the reader. If however by 'fiction' is 
meant the minute conditions laid down for the use of trisyllabic 
feet by Mr Bridges, I am quite willing to throw these over af 
once. The unfettered trisyllabic foot used by Shelley or 
Tennyson is as satisfactory to my ear as the artificial foot 
allowed by Mr Bridges. The next point to which I should 
make objection is, that the metre is constituted simply by the 
number of stresses in the line, without regard to the number of 
syllables or to the position of the stress. Mr Bridges himself 
seems to be conscious that some limitation must be made on 
this wide definition, for in the words which I have italicized he 
slips in the condition that the stress must not be overburdened 
by the syllables it has to carry. What is this, but to re- 

1 The italics are mine. 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 105 

introduce the syllabic principle ? A few examples, prose and 
verse, will be sufficient to shew the absurd results which would 
follow from treating the number of syllables as unessential to 
metre. Take first these lines of six stresses 

Sir Rfchard sp6ke and he laughed and we rodred a hurriih and s6. 
With hedd, hdnds, wfngs, or fe^t pursues his wdy. 
Thdt seeming to be m6st which we indeed ledst dre. 

five stresses 

Thdn methought I hedrd a mellow soiind. 
A mixture of a lie doth ever ddd pledsure. 
Or thdt stan-'d £thiop queen that str6ve. 

four stresses 

The stdg at eve had drdnk his ffU. 
Mflton a nkiae to resoiind for dges. 
Revenge is a kfnd of wild justice. 

three stresses 

N6w the ddy is 6ver. 

The sdjourners of Goshen who beheld. 

The sl6thful man saith there is a Hon in the wdy. 

It is strange to find Mr Bridges, after he has said that 
metre is constituted by the number of stresses in each line and 
that it would have been better if Milton had not troubled 
himself about scansion in writing the Samson choruses, — it is 
strange, I say, to find him affirming that the laws of English 
stressed metre have still to be- ascertained in regard to the 
questions ' What will a stress carry ? What are the usual 
units of the verse?' and yet maintaining that, when these 
unknown laws are discovered, ' English poets will find open to 
them an infinite field of rhythm as yet untouched. There is 
nothing that may not be done in it.' How can he tell the 
effect of what is still in nubibus, or would he have us greet 
Walt Whitman as the harbinger of the new era ? There may 
be some minds to which the fantastic visions of anarchy are 
more attractive than the waking realities of an ordered freedom, 
but Englishmen will be slow to believe that the poetry of the 
future is too big for the measures which sufficed the genius 
of Shakespeare and Milton and Shelley and Tennyson and 



106 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Browning, and the elasticity of which has been proved by a 
constant succession of new developments in metre and rhythm. 

Happily Mr Bridges has not confined himself to theory, but 
has given practical illustration of what he means by the 
' rhythmical stressed line ' in his interesting dramas. In the 
Comedy entitled The Feast of Bacchus he adds the following 
note to explain his novel verse, which critics, he is told, will 
declare to be prose. 

'The metre is a line of six stresses... Whatever a stress may 
carry, it should never be made to carry more than one long 
syllable with it, — the comic vein allowing some license as to 
what is reckoned as long ; — but as there are no conventional, or 
merely metric stresses (except sometimes in the sixth place ; 
and in the third, when the mid-verse break usual in English 
six-stressed verse is observed, or that place is occupied by a 
proper name), the accompanying long and short syllables may 
have very varied relation of position with regard to their 
carrying stress. Where more than four short unstressed 
syllables come together, a stress is distributed or lost ; and in 
some conditions of rhythm this may occur when only four short 
syllables come together ; and this distributed stress occurs very 
readily in the second, fourth, and fifth places. Such at least 
seem some of the rhythmic laws, any infringement of which 
must be regarded as a fault, or liberty of writing : and the best 
has not been made of the metre. A natural emphasizing of 
the sense gives all the rhythm that is intended.' 

I don't know what may be the feeling of others, but to me 
the last sentence seems to be the expression of the author's 
despair of ever finding a satisfactory explanation of his metre. 
He puts forward tentatively, one after another, various rules, 
which can hardly be described as light-giving or convincing, 
and after telling us that * such at least seem to he some of the 
rhythmic laws' which are essential to the verse, he ends by 
saying that after all it does not matter: the rhythm will be 
found all right if it is properly read. 

I propose then to disregard the enigmatic rules, and con- 
sider whether Mr Bridges' verse admits of explanation according 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 107 

to the system which I have followed in my book, and what 
kinds of liberties are allowed. I think it will appear, as we 
proceed, that many of the lines are not in conformity with the 
author's own principles, and that, where they do conform, they 
are not rhythmical, unless they are subject to the recognized 
syllabic restrictions. 

The 1st act begins with the lines 

Good morn|ing Sir ! | good morn|ing ! He does | not hear | me— Sir ! | 
Good morn ing ! No | : he goes | on dig|ging away | for his Hfe. | 

which I should scan as shewn by the bars, calling them either 
6-foot anapaestic with iambic substitution, or 6-foot iambic 
with anapaestic substitution. I will give some examples where 
the scanning is more difficult. 

p. 185, 1. 37. Never do I go out, however early in the morning. 
Written and read thus, I deny that this line is verse. If we 
read ' i' th' morning,' it will then be 6-foot iambic, ending with 
anapaest and extranietrical syllable. 

1. 39. But here | I see | you dig|ging, hoeing, | or at all | events | 

Here the word ' hoeing ' is forced into a monosyllable or else 
the 4th foot is an amphibrach. 

p. 186, 1. 69. But af|ter the u|sual dicjtatojrial manjner of fa(thers. 
Here the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th feet are anapaest and the 
line ends with an extrametrical syllable. The general effect 
is that of a hexameter with anacrusis. 

1. 70. I ne|ver left | him in peace | don't think | my fine j fellow • 
3rd foot anapaest, last foot trochee. 

1. 79. You have not | enough | to do | . When I | was yo|ur age | 
' your ' has to be read as a disyllabic to make the line rhyth- 
mical. 

p. 187, 1. 93. I returned | home to | my house | miser|abie, | my mind 
inverted stress in 2nd, 4th and 5th feet. 

1. 100. So busjily are | engaged | all for | my com(fort 

2 2 1 

Here we have only five stresses, and the line must appa- 
rently be scanned as feminine 5-foot iambic with spondee in 5th 
foot and trochee in 4th. 



108 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

p. 191, 1. 270. A hardjahiji, was no|thing of the kind | : the 80-| 
called sever] ities | 

The only way to make this rhythmical is to read the 3rd 
foot as ' thing o' th' kind' (like 'o' th' morning' in p. 185, 1. 37) 
and apparently to treat * called sever ' as an anapaest. 

1. 277. Of e|vil paslsions, he is driven | of ueces|sity from bad | to worse 
It is absurd to call this verse. To give any kind of scanning 
one would be compelled to crush into a 3rd foot 'sions he's 
driven,' into a 5th * s'ty from bad.' 

1. 285. Learn ( this lesjson : see | what shame | your friend | has brought 
Here we find the 1st foot represented by a long syllable. 

p. 194, 1. 372. Means well: I I would I not hurt I his feelings I but 

11 1 2 1 

at an|y cost I 

2 1 

If this is to be scanned, we have to allow an amphibrach in the 
4th foot : there are 7 stresses. 

p. 198, 1. 512. Have noth|ing to ansjwer. No|body could | be in | a 
worse plight | 

2nd, 4th and 6th feet anapaests, the last having properly two 

stresses. 

p. 210, 1. 921. With a mi'nd^ most singularly sensible of grief, or else 

Only 5 stresses. I do not venture to scan it. If read as a 
5 -foot iambic, the 3rd and 4th foot would each have four 
syllables. 

p. 216, 1. 1146. The stage is y6ur h6me, the dctors your father 
and moth(er 

Here one would have said there were only five stresses, but 
Mr Bridges accents the first ' your,' which I suppose he must 
make a disyllabic as in 1. 79. The 5th and 6th feet would then 
be anapaests. 

p. 220, IL 1249, 1250. 

A wom|an whose ve|ry preslence was an in|sult; and not | content | 
With abu|sing my con]fidence | and kindjness, my sheer | disgust | . 

In the former line we must either assume an amphibrach in 
the 3rd foot (see 11. 39, 372) or squeeze four syllables into the 
4th, as in 11. 270, 277, 921. 

^ The accents are Mr Bridges'. 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 109 

p. 221, 1. 1292. 

To keep | your place | woman | . WAa there | ever | a thing j 

Here we have three continuous trochees in the middle of the 

line. 

1. 1197. Of the mat Iter in which | socon|fidently | you oppose | me. Fool! | 

anapaests in 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th foot. 

p. 222, ]. 1337. That carries it: to hell with dumps! 'Twere poor 
merriment 

begins with 5 iambs. What it ends with I can't guess. It is 
certainly most unrhythmical. 

p. 1341. You have made me, my dear Clinia the very happiest of 
fathers 

There seem to be only four stresses to 18 syllables. The 
rhythm reminds one of Miseraram est neque ainori dare ludum 
neque dulci and is quite out of harmony with the general metre. 

1. 1355. What can [ thdt teach | 1 Your tie | to me | your friend(ship 

Here there are G stresses and 5 feet, 

p. 223, 1. 1394. That if | I can | be hapjpy enough | to make | his 
peace | with his fath(er 

Here we have 7 stresses and 7 feet. 

p. 225, 1. 1453. Costly | to rear | costly | to keep | costly to | get rid (of 

the 5th foot seems to be a dactyl. 

I turn now to the examination of Mr Bridges' 5-foot iambic, 
as exemplified in his tragedy of Nero Pt. 2. He has a note at 
the end which is not quite intelligible to me: 'pedantry refus- 
ing to conform to idiom will explain the occasion of many of 
the accents with which I have thought it necessary to disfigure 
my text ; for a good number of them will be found to be 
common enclitics. The rest are all put as guides to the 
dramatic rhythm, and many of them to ensure the usual 
pronunciation of words in verses the rhythm of which depends 
on it, but which I found some readers stumble at, so that they 
would rather mispronounce the word than accept the intended 
rhythm.' Not to dwell on this, I would call the attention of 



110 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

my readers to the following lines as illustrating his dramatic 
rhythm. 

p. 233, 1. 11. Crackled | in flame | and smoke, | hath stilled { to a fire | 
Ist foot trochee, 5th foot anapaest. 

1. 24. Nay, while | she Ifves | I go | not firom | the world | 
contains 6 stresses and is therefore inadmissible in a line 
limited by theory to 5 stresses. 

1. 35. I had spojken of | to thee | openly, | but all 

Here the 1st foot is an anapaest, the 4th a dactyl, and the line 
has only 4 stresses. 

1. 57. His cru]elty his | eft'emjinate blun|dering pa8(sion 
Four stresses, 2nd foot tribrach, 4th and 5th anapaest. 

1. 116. W^ res|tore the | repub|lic. The | Republic! 
Here Mr Bridges accents 'we,' thus giving trochees in the 1st 
and 2nd foot : the 4th foot is a pyrrhic, and there are 4 stresses. 

P. 235, 11. 220, 221. Written as prose, but may be metri- 
cally divided as follows : 

Sit and | drink gentjlemen. | Wine shall | be cheap | 
To-day. | The life | in the earth | will crack | my jars. | 
A few I more rumb|les like that | will drain | the cel(lars 

and so again at the end of the 2nd column 

Your health, | sir ! If | you wish | to know | the cause | 
***** 

I give I him his day | he cares | not for | the gods | 
1. 503. A sim|ple mind | a clear | head and | true heart | 
six stresses. 

1. 516. Seal your | lips and | depart. | And thou | too neph(ew 
begins like 1. 116 with two trochees. 

1. 620. Sene|ca Cae|sar ? my hand | is trem|bling, my sense | 
1st foot trochee, 3rd and 5th anapaests. 

1. 629. Stand firm ? with my | poor pal|sied limbs | 
four feet with five stresses. 

1. 773. Scarce human. 'Tis soundest principle. 
Here there are five stresses, but the line is unrhythmical 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. Ill 

because it wants a syllable. It becomes rhythmical if ' the ' is 
inserted after "Tis.' 

1. 842. Whose ar|my is | a crea|ture of dis|cipline j 

only three stresses. 

L 888. Prece|dents for | my conduct. | The divine | Augus(tus 

four stresses : the 3rd foot is amphibrach, unless it is meant to 
end with an extrametrical syllable before the stop. 

1. 993. Snow from ! the south | . Wood must | burn ; when | 'tis burnt | 

trochee in the 1st, 3rd and 4th foot and spondee in 5th, six 
stresses. 

1. 1048. Throw up | this all|men's joy ? | Nay, here I the heart (rules 

12 2 122 21 

eight stresses, strong extrametrical syllable. 

1. 1715. For a statjue of Bru|tus and | outdo | the man | 
four stresses, 1st and 2nd foot anapaests, 3rd pyrrhic. 

1. 1803. Marriage | ruins | a w6m|an : and | how quick(ly 

two trochees at the beginning of the line, 4th pyrrhic, 5th 
spondee. 

1. 1875. Immeldiate ac|tion. That | madman | Scevi(nus 
4th foot trochee. 

1. 1943. Action | Rufus, | is now | your on|ly hope | 
begins with two trochees like 1803, 516. 

1. 2275. My rich | estates | c6nfiscate, my innocent 

The accent (which is given in the text) on the 1st syllable of 
' confiscate,' destroys the rhythm. If it had been on the penul- 
timate, the 4th foot might have been treated as an anapaest. 

1. 2283. Our ill-|built ship | foimders. | I am | your cap(tain 
trochee in 3rd and 4th foot. 

1. 2217. In a | conspir|acy | to mur|der ano(ther 
only three stresses. 

1. 2275. The lap-|dogs of | the pal|ace. Where | dre they? | 
* are ' is accented in the text, making up four stresses. 



112 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

1. 2296. My inltimajcy with | the accused, | that oft | 
three stresses. 

1. 2396. Defi|eth thee | as I, | curseth | thee as I | 
4th foot trochee, 5 th foot anapaest. 

I think those who have followed me thus far will agree that 
Mr Bridges' stressed line is of little value as a help to the 
understanding of metre. A line is not necessarily rhythmical 
when it accords with the system, nor unrhythmical when it 
disagrees with it ; and it is of no use for discriminating the 
different kinds of verse. 

In the Transactions of the London Philological Society for 
1897—1898, pp. 484—503 there is a paper by Dr Skeat on 
the Scansion of English Poetry. He considers that ' the usual 
method of scansion of English poetry, which divides the line 
into feet of equal length, is of small actual value. It is arti- 
ficial, and conceals the facts which it ought rather to display.' 
' It does not enable us to discriminate between the various 
types of verse.' I am not quite sure what is the method of 
scansion which Dr Skeat here condemns. If it is the same as 
that which I have examined in my 3rd chapter, or, if we are 
to take it as maintaining that the iamb is the only foot 
admissible in English blank verse, I am not concerned to 
defend it, though I think it nearer the truth than that which 
Dr Skeat would substitute for it. For this system he claims, 
that it will enable us ' to analyse any given poem in the five- 
accent metre with a precision hitherto unattainable ' (p. 487), 
providing 'a most powerful and minute search-light, which, if 
well directed, might easily enable us to distinguish the work of 
one poet from another, and even the work of a poet in a 
serious mood from that of the same poet when in a jocose or 
pleasant one' (p. 495). He describes his system as 'the natural 
method of grouping the syllables around the accented syllables 
with which, in actual pronunciation, they are associated.' From 
what follows it would at first seem that the grouped or associated 
syllables are such as make up a single word, for he goes on to 
say ' in pronouncing English words there are to be found four 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 113 

forms of what I shall call an accent-group, i.e. a group in 
which only one accent occurs. These groups are exemplified 
by the four words Tone, Ascent, Cadence, Extension... denoted 

by the symbols — v./ ^ v^-^, where the symbol — denotes a 

strongly accented, and ^ an unaccented syllable.' It appears 
however that, in all words containing more than three syllables, 
and in some words of three syllables, we have to recognize a 
group of two accents, the strong and the weak, the latter of 
which may be denoted by a finer stroke, as in indignation, 
merriment. 

So far I think we should gather that the metrical groups 
of which the line is composed are simply the words themselves, 
and therefore that the words must not be broken up from any 
fancied considerations of rhythm. 

It would appear however from the scanning on a later page 
that the ' accent-group ' (which is the phrase he prefers to ' the 
misleading word foot with its absurd classical associations ') is 
not limited to a single word. We find not merely the article, 
pronoun, preposition, and conjunction attached to an accent- 
group, but we meet also such groups as here - rests, save - where, 
how - bowed, some - heart, each - i7i, left - the. But how far from 
' the natural method of grouping the syllables around the 
accented syllables with which, in actual pronunciation, they 
are associated,' is such a division as the following : 

^Each-in hi8-narrow»cell»for-ever laid 
Left-the warm-precincts»of«the-cheerful«day ? 

It is plain that no good reader would separate the words in, 
the, of, from the following nouns, and that the natural grouping 
would be 

Each«in-hi8-narrow-cell, 

Left* the- warm-precincts of-the-cheerful-day. 

Again, what are we to say of such lines as : 

Moleat her-ancient soli»tary reign 
The-place of-fame and-ele»gy» supply 

1 The hyphens connect words belonging to the same group: a full stop is 
used to isolate the 'tones,' and also where the same word is divided into 
distinct groups. 

M. M. 8 



114 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

If-chance by-lonely Contem»plation»led 
Or- waked to-exta»8y»the-living»lyre, 
Heaven-did a-recom»pense : a8-largely»send. 

where the 'accent-groups' solitary, elegy, contemplation, extasy, 
recompense are each, according to the scansion, rudely broken 
up into two distinct groups ? In fact, if we choose to adopt 
Dr Skeat s own vigorous language in p. 495, we might say 
" nothing can be more hideous and artificial than such groups 
of words as" Heaven-did a-recom»pense, Left-the warm-pre- 
cincts»of« "and the like. A poet who really scanned his 
lines according to such a system would hardly deserve a 
hearing." My first charge then against Dr Skeat is that his 
system, as applied by him, in no respect answers to his descrip- 
tion of it, but separates naturally associated syllables, and joins 
together alien syllables. 

We should all of course agree in his general principle that, 
in the reading whether of prose or verse, the first object of the 
reader should be to bring out the natural relations of the 
syllables of which the sentence is composed. The most ele- 
mentary grouping is that in which syllables are combined into 
words. Even this is not always made quite clear by an illiterate 
reader. Nearly as intimate is the grouping which unites the 
proclitic (article, preposition etc.) with the following word ; and 
we might go on tracing out the varying shades of intimacy, till 
we come to distinct breaches of intimacy marked by commas, 
colons, full stops and paragraphs. Dr Skeat limits his groups 
to three syllables, but if we are thinking simply of how to read, 
setting aside rules of scansion for the moment, we have to 
reckon with single words containing six syllables or more, or 
with longer compound groups of closely associated words, such 
as 'from his heathery couch' following the word 'sprung'; so 
that if, for convenience' sake, we choose to take no cognizance 
of groups containing more than three syllables, we should at 
least allow of the possibility of double or treble groups. But 
confining ourselves to the groups recognized in his system, I 
want to know, why the only trisyllabic group specified is the 
amphibrach ? If there are words like ' extension ' there are 
also words such as 'beauteous,' 'terrible,' 'counterfeit' with the 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 115 

stress on the 1st syllable, and such as 'colonnade,' 'macaroon' 
with the stress on the last. The anapaestic group is no doubt 
rare, if we think only of single words, but it is extremely 
common as a compound group, such as ' the approach,' * to 
return.' Again the disyllabic group, as exemplified in single 
words, may be generally divided into trochee or iamb, but if we 
consider compound groups, such as ' who first,' ' who last,' we 
are compelled to include the spondee. To illustrate this I will 
take the simplest of metres, the 4-foot iambic of the Lady of 
the Lake beginning with the normal 

The stag at eve had drunk his fill. 

A little lower we come to a line which Dr Skeat would probably 
describe as made up of two extensions and two tones, 

Had-kindled«ou»Benvoirlich's»head 

but which seems to me more naturally divided, for the purpose 
of reading, into two groups, the former an extension, if we like 
to call it so, the other containing the remainder of the line. 
But what are we to say of the following line 

The antlered monarch of the waste ? 

If we are to call the 1st group an extension, and the 2nd a 
cadence, we have surely just as good a right to call the 3rd an 
anapaest. And so, in 

Sprung from his heathery couch in haste 

if we allow that 'sprung' may be called a 'tone,' we have equal 
right to say that it is followed by a double anapaest. So the 
following lines 

A moment | listened | to the cry 

That thickened | as the chase | drew nigh | 

seem to me to fall naturally into three groups, as marked, the 
1st consisting of extension, cadence, anapaest, the 2nd of 
extension, anapaest, ascent. 

I go on to examine Dr Skeat's classification of the varieties 
of what is known as five-foot iambic. He begins by distin- 
guishing four types, {A) commencing with two 'ascents' {y-, w-), 
{B) with 'ascent' and 'extension' {y-, ^j,-^), (C) with 'extension' 

8—2 



116 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

and 'tone' (v.^-v-», -), (Z)) with 'extension' and 'cadence' {^^->^,-y^). 
Of each of these there are four varieties determined by the 
nature of the three following groups which make up the 
end of the line, and which may be either w-, v/-, v-, or w-, 
\/ — \j, "^f or \^—\^, — , \j — , or yj—\j, — vy, — . 

This classification seems to me unsatisfactory (1) on the 
ground that it is not exhaustive even for such strictly normal 
metres as that of Gray's Elegy, which is taken as the type. Over 
and above the sixteen varieties thus obtained, Dr Skeat has 
afterwards to name one of far more importance in its effect on 
the rhythm, i.e. the initial trochee, as in 

Bdck-to its-mansion»call«the-fleeting»breatli. 

He has also to open the door to many other varieties caused 
by the varying position of the caesura and, still more, by the 
greater or less number of accents and of syllables. (2) The 
sixteen admitted varieties are purely arbitrary. No good 
reader would separate between the 1st and 2nd group in the 
line just quoted. 'Back' is certainly a monosyllabic 'tone,' 
if we are to admit such things at all: 'to' belongs to the 
following group, which, if we are to find names for all real 
metrical groups, should be called a 'third Paeon' rather than 
an 'extension' or amphibrach. 

Look at some other instances of ' extension ' 

The-lowiug«herd«winds-slowl7«o'er»the-lea 
The-cock's shrill-clarion«or»the-echoing«horn. 

Extension, as we learn from p. 485, is a group of three syllables 
in which only one accent occurs, that accent falling between 
two unaccented syllables. Will any one say that winds - sldwly 
or shrill - cldrion has only one accent, or that either shrill - 
clarion or echoing - horn has only three syllables ? To call 
these by the name ' extension ' is as purely arbitrary as to give 
the name of ' tone,' defined as ' a strongly accented syllable,' to 
the scarcely audible prepositions in the following lines : 

The-rude foi"efathers»of»the-hamlet»sleep 
No-more shall-rouse-them»from»their-lowly«bed 
Some-hearts once-pregnant«with«celestial«fire 
And-wastes its-sweetness«on»the-desert»air. 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 117 

Surely if any scansion is to be called 'artificial,' to use Dr 
Skeat's own phrase, or 'fictitious' and 'conventional' in Mr 
Bridges' language, it is the scansion which puts the emphasis 
on the weakest word in the line. Properly read, the lines have 
only four accents and have therefore no claim to be reckoned 
specimens of the 5-accent verse. Thus in 

The riide I forefajthers of | the hdmjlet sleep | 

I should describe the 3rd foot as a pyrrhic. Or, if we consider 
that we gain an additional accent in the first foot of such 
a line as 

No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed, 

this is at the expense of introducing a group unknown to 
Dr Skeat, in which two adjoining syllables have the same 
strong accent ; the group which I should call a spondee. And 
that this is not exceptional, but a very effective and favorite 
variation is shewn by the following lines : 

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave 
If memQrj^ o'er their tomb no trophies raise 
Or flattgry soothe the dull cold ear of death 
Some heart once pregnS-nt with cfilestlal fire 
Left the warm precincts 5f the cheerful day 
On some fond breast the parting soul relies 
Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn. 

It will be observed that in most of these lines there are 
six accents, a number which is forbidden by the first law of 
Dr Skeat's system. In some there are pyrrhics, in some ana- 
paests. Other examples of these are : 

They kept the noiseless tenoiir 6f their way 
Implores the passing tribiite of a sigh 
Now fades the glimmSrlng landscape 6n the sight 
Some mute inglortotts Milton here may rest 
To quench the blushSs of ingentioiis shame. 

In one case the trisyllabic foot is better described as a dactyl, 

Mattering his wayward fancies he would rove. 

Dr Skeat would perhaps explain these away on the principle 
of elision, but at what a loss to the rhythm, if we are to 
pronounce 'glimm'ring,' 'ingenyous,' 'mutt' ring.' 



118 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

(3) But if Dr Skeat's scansion breaks down in such a 
simple measure as the Elegy, how helpless and hopeless would 
it be in dealing with the bold experiments of Milton or 
Tennyson or Browning or with those of Mr Bridges which we 
have just been considering ? What would he make of 

Rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs, dens, and shades of night, 

or Tennyson's 

Galloping of horses over the grassy plain, 

or 

The little innocent soul flitted away? 

(4) Lastly, I contest the right to introduce such metrical groups 
as 'tones' and 'extensions' as being natural and ordinary sub- 
stitutes for the normal ascents of the heroic metre. The 
cadence (i.e. the trochee) all will allow at any rate in certain 
parts of the line, but neither the tone nor the extension 
is found otherwise than as a rare exception. On the other 
hand the ascending and descending trisyllabic (i.e. the ana- 
paest and dactyl) are closely allied with the iamb and trochee, 
often melting into them by means of slurring or glide. In 
conjunction with iamb and trochee they supply, as I have 
endeavoured to shew, all the feet required to explain any 
English metre, if we allow of occasional truncation or anacrusis. 
For the possible use of amphibrach in the iambic line cf. 
above, pp. 71, 74. 

Dr Skeat (in p. 495) maintains ' that English verse admits 
neither dactyl nor anapaest,' and tries to explain all dactylic 
or anapaestic lines as consisting of amphibrachs. I have con- 
sidered this question above, pp. 91 — 93. As an example of 
amphibrachic metre he takes Byron's lines, which I scan as 
alternate masculine and feminine anapaestic, with iambic sub- 
stitution and occasional initial truncation, thus 

AKndw ! ye the Idnd | where the cyipress and myr(tle 
Are emiblems of deeds | that are done | in their clime | 
Where the rage | of the vuljture, the love | of the tur(tle 
Now melt | into sadjness now madjden to crime | 

Dr Skeat reads them thus 

Know-ye the-land-where the-cyi^ress and-myrtle 
Are-emblems of-deeds-that are-done-in their-clime 



EXAMINATION OF TWO RECENT METRICAL SYSTEMS. 119 

Where* the-rage-of the-vulture the-love-of the-turtle 
Now-melt-in»to-sadness now-madden to-crime. 

I think no educated reader, who considers the matter without 
prejudice, would have any hesitation as to which scansion 
gives the better rhythm, which has the more natural division 
of the words, and which puts less strain on the metrical 
principles adopted. Both systems admit of certain licenses, 
such as the omission of a short syllable before a long at the 
beginning of the line, or the omission of a short syllable after 
a long at the end of the line, what I have called initial or 
final truncation. But Dr Skeat goes far beyond this in his 
3rd line, where he prefixes a tone, i.e., according to definition, a 
long accented syllable, thus 

"Where»the-rage-of the-vulture the-love-of the-turtle. 

But this gives us, not four accents, but five, which contradicts 
the essential principle of the metre. Dr Skeat himself feels 
the difficulty, which he says ' must be disposed of before we can 
proceed in peace.' He finds a means of escape by discarding 
the definition of the 'tone.' Here, he says, it is used to denote 
an extremely slight accent (p. 496), for which he provides a 
new symbol, to remind us that the word is not to 'count as 
forming a true accent-group': it is merely in fact that 'inser- 
tion of additional syllables at the beginning of a line ' which 
'is a strongly marked feature of this amphibrachic verse,' 
though ' it requires a good ear and careful handling, or the 
verse easily becomes lame and clogged ' (p. 497). That is to 
say, his system breaks down when he has to apply it to a 
perfectly regular anapaestic line, just as it does in the lines 
cited on p. 499, as it would do in 

Not a drum | was heard | not a fu|neral note | 

How this magnificent anapaestic line would be murdered 
by the halting amphibrachic scansion 

Not»a-drum-was heard-not a-funer»al-note I 

Dr Skeat's paper concludes with an examination of Kingsley's 
hexameters, which of course turn out to be mere ' extensions.' 
I cannot say that I find his argument more convincing here 



120 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

than in the rest of his paper. I shall deal with the hexa- 
meter in a later chapter. 

It may perhaps be worth while to give a specimen of 
dactylic metre, of which he denies the existence and which 
is certainly rarer than the anapaest. In p. 139 below I have 
cited Tennyson's 

Cannon in | front of them | 
Volleyed and | thundered | . 

Hood's 

Take her up | tenderly | 
Lift her with | care A 

Heber's 

Brightest and | best of the | sons of the | morning | . 

We may add Scott's 

Come away j come away | 

Hark to the | summons | 
Come in your | war array | 

Gentles and | commons | . 

Ruskin {Elements of English Prosody, p. 15) quotes Byron's line 
Bright is the | diadem | boundless the | sway A 

as a perfect specimen of dactylic verse, and (p. 18) 

With the dew j on his brow I and the rust | on his mail j 

as an equally faultless anapaestic. When, however, we com- 
pare the remainder of the poem from which the former line is 
taken, we find that it too is more properly described as ana- 
paestic with initial truncation. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 

Illustrated from Tennyson's Poems. 

I propose in this chapter to test our metrical analysis upon 
a writer who furnishes examples of a great variety of rhythms, 
and as to whose readings and pronunciation there is no question, 
so that one may argue securely on the facts. Metrical writers 
are almost as much divided in regard to the general theory of 
metre and the scansion and naming of particular metres, as 
they are on the admissible varieties of the five-foot iambic ; nor 
do I know of any one who has given an altogether consistent 
and satisfactory account of the matter. The best, I think, is 
that by Dr Abbott in English Lessons, but it is incomplete on 
the trisyllabic metres, and he errs, as we have seen, in the 
direction of a mechanical regularity. 

Before classifying Tennyson's trochaic metres according to 
the number of feet employed, I must mention a variety which is 
common to them all, produced by the omission of the last 
unaccented syllable, thus giving rise to the truncated trochaic, 
the converse of the feminine iambic. We find examples of the 
two-foot trochaic, both complete and truncated, in combination 
with longer metres ; of complete in The Poet — 

In the I middle | leaps a j fountain | (4) 

Like sheet | lightning | (2) 

Ever I brightening | (2) 

With a I low me|lodious | thunder | (4) 

and of the truncated in The Millers Daughtei — 

Love the | gift is | love the | debt A (4 — ) 

Even I so A (2-) 



122 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Deserted House — 

Life and | thought have | gone a|wayA (4-) 

Side by | side A (2 - ) 

Poet^ 

Hollow I smile and | frozen | sneer A (4 — ) 

Come not | here A (2 - ) 

I do not think Tennyson has any example of the complete 
three-foot trochaic, such as we find in Baring Gould's hymn for 
children — 

Now the I day is | over | (3) 

Night is I drawing | nigh A (3 - ) 

Shadows | of the | evening | (3) 

Steal a|cross the | sky A (3 - ) 

But the truncated form is common in combination with longer 
metres, as in Lilian — 

When my | passion | seeks a 
Pleasance | in love | sighs A 
Then ajway she | flies A 
Fairy ] Lili|an A 

and the Deserted House — 

Careless | tenants | they a 
Here no | longer | dwell. A 

In Maud xvii. we find twenty-eight consecutive lines in this 
metre, beginning " Go not | happy | day." In Lilian we have 
specimens of a variation of the complete three-foot trochaic 
formed by the prefixing of a hypermetrical syllable or anacrusis, 
analogous to the feminine rhythm in the iambic metre — 

She) looking | through and | through me | 
If) prayers | will not | hush thee | 

The four-foot trochaic is by far the commonest, as in Lilian — 

When I I ask her | if she | love me | 
Claps her | tiny j hands a|bove me | 

The Poet's Mind— 

Clear and | bright it | should be | ever | 
Flowing I like a | crystal | river | 

Lady ofShalott — 

Willows I whiten | aspens | quiver | 
Little I breezes | dxisk and | shiver | 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 123 

Usually, however, it alternates with the truncated form, as in 
Lord of Burleigh — 

Deeply | mourned the | lord of | Burleigh | 
Burleigh | house by | Stamford | town A 

This is the common 8s 7s of the hymn-books, like — 

Through the | day thy | love has t spared us | 
Now we I lay us | down to | rest A 

Written as one line we know it as truncated eight-foot, the 
metre of Locksley Hall — 
Comrades | leave me \ here a | little | while as | yet 'tis | early | dawn. 

The truncated four-foot is the metre of the song in the Vision 
of Sin — 

Wrinkled ( ostler | grim and | thin A 
It is the 7s of hymn-books, the metre of 

Hark the | herald | angels | sing A 

Deserted House is in the same metre with anacrusis in three^of 
the lines — 

So) frequent | on its | hinge be|fore A 

Or) through the | windows | we shall | see A 

The) naked|ness | and vacanlcyA 

The complete four-foot is rarely used alone in hymns, as in one 
of the translations of the Dies Irae — 

Day of I wrath, | day of | mourning | 
See once | more the | cross re|turning | 
Heaven and | earth in | ashes | burning | 

Five-foot trochaic is rare in either the complete or truncated 
form. We find examples of the former in the Vision of Sin — 

Narrowing | into | where they | sat as|sembled | 
Low vo]luptuous I music | winding | trembled | 

and in Wellington — 

He shall | find the | stubborn | thistle | bursting | i 
Into 1 glossy | purples I which out|redden | 

The rhythm has rather a tendency to run into Canning's 
Needy Knife Grinder, which indeed only differs from it by the 



124 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

insertion of a short syllable, changing the initial trochee into 
a dactyl — 

Story, God | bless you, | I have | none to | tell. Sir | 

In both the poems just mentioned the truncated form is mixed 
with the complete, as in the Vision of Sin — 

Then me|thought I j heard a | mellow | sound a 
Gathering | up from | all the | lower | ground A 

and in Wellington — 

Once the | weight and | fate of | Europe | hung a 

He that | ever | following | her com|mands A 

On with I toil of | heart and | knees and | hands a 

Six-foot is also rare. We find in the Vision of Sin the 
complete form — 

Purple I gauzes j golden | hazes | liquid | mazes | 

and in Wellington the truncated 

Who is I he that | cometh | like an | honoured | guest a 
also in Cauteretz — 

All a|long the | valley | stream that | flashest | white a 

I am not aware that Tennyson has any example of the com- 
plete seven-foot trochaic, though it has to my ear an easier and 
more natural rhythm than the five and six-foot trochaics, e.g. 

In the I glowing | autumn | sunset | in the | golden] autumn | 

but we find the truncated form in the Lotos Eaters — 

We have | had e|nough of | action | and of | motion | we A 

and 

Like a | tale of | little | meaning | though the | words be | strong a 

LocksUy Hall supplies examples of the eight-foot trochaic, 
both in the complete form, as 

Slowly I comes a | hungry | people | as a | lion | creeping | nigher | 

and in the truncated form — 

Smote the | chord of | self that | trembling | past in | music | out of | 
sight A 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 125 

So the Lotos Eaters 

Rolled to I starboard | rolled to | larboard | when the | surge was | seeth- 
ing I free A 

In this metre the line is usually divided into two sections after 
the fourth foot, which I have marked with the double bar, e.g. 

Comrades | leave me | here a | little || while as | yet 'tis | early | dawn a 

In 194 lines of Locksley Hall we find this rule observed in 
all but forty-two, and in fifteen of these the fourth foot ends 
with * and,' which softens the effect, as in 

Saw the | vision | of the | world and || all the | wonder | which should ] be 
Love took I up the | glass of | time and || turned it | in his | glowing | 
hands 

Otherwise it has a heavy dragging sound, as in 

Many a | night from | yonder | ivied || casement | ere I | sunk to | rest 
What is I fine withjin thee | growing || coarse to | sympa|thize with | clay 
Glares at | one that | nods and | winks be||hind a | slowly | dying | fire 

In one line we find both sections truncated — 

As I have | seen the | rosy | red || flushing | in the | northern | night 

Some have maintained that the basis of the metre is a double 
trochee with a weaker stress on the first syllable and stronger 
on the third. There seems no ground for this. If we have 

In the I sprfng a | fuller | crimson | comes up|on the | robin's ] breast 

we have also 

Mdny a | night from | yonder | ivied | casement | ere I | sank to ] rest 

The rationale of the two sections is of course that the line arose 
from the juxtaposition of a complete and truncated four-foot 
trochaic, as 

Pilgrims | here on | earth and | strangers || Dwelling | in the | midst of [ 
foes 

In rhythmical effect it resembles the Greek trochaic tetrameter 
catalectic. 

Having thus classified the various trochaic lines to be found 
in Tennyson, it remains for us to observe how they are com- 
bined into poems, and with what irregularities, either accentual 



126 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

or syllabic, they are used. One of these irregularities I have 
already referred to, the anacrusis. It may be well here to give 
reasons in support of such an explanation of an unaccented 
syllable at the beginning of the line. Why should not a line 
beginning thus be regarded as an iambic line ? We will take 
Lilian. This is a poem of thirty lines, all but four of which are 
manifestly trochaic. Why should we wish to assign a distinct 
rhythm to these four, because they have an iambic beginning, 
more than we do to iambic lines which have a trochaic (i.e. a 
feminine) ending ? Similarly in A Dirge we have forty-nine 
lines, all but four plainly trochaic, and one of these is formed 
simply by prefixing ' but ' to the refrain, " let them rave." In 
the Lotos Eaters, after a number of long trochaic lines, we 
come to 

Than) lab<nir | in the | deep mid | ocean | wind and | wave and | oar a 
Oh) rest ye ! brother | mari|ners we | will not | wander | more A 

I should certainly prefer to call these trochaic. The Valley of 
Cauteretz and the Ode on the Duke of Wellington present several 
examples of the same kind. No doubt there is a remarkable 
mixture of the iambic and trochaic rhythms in the latter ; but 
taking the last eleven lines beginning 

He is I gone who | seemed so | great a 
it seems to me better to treat the exceptional lines 

Than) any | wreath that | man can | weave him | 
But) speak no | more of | his re|nown a 
And) in the | vast cath|edral | leave him | 

as examples of anacrusis rather than as iambics. So in the 
longer lines of stanza vi. — 

Who is I he that | cometh || like an | honoured | guest a 

With) banner | and with | music || with) soldier [ and with | priest A 

I should treat the second as a truncated six-foot trochaic, with 
anacrusis at the beginning of both sections. The line that 
follows 

With a I nation | weeping || and) breaking \ on my | rest a 

has anacrusis at the beginning of the second section only. 
Cauteretz is six-foot truncated — 

All a|long the | valley || stream that | flashest | white A 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 127 

but anacrusis is freely used at the beginning of either or both 
sections, as, in the first — 

For) all a|long the | valley |1 down thy | rocky | bed A 
in the second — 

Deepen |ing thy I voice with || the) deepening [ of the | night a 
in both — 

The) two and | thirty | years were || a) mist that j rolls a|wayA 

and even with two short syllables prefixed to the second 
section in 

Thy) living | voice to | me was || as the) voice | of the | dead a 

This last might of course be treated as a case of iambic in- 
trusion ; in either case the second "voice" is disyllabic. Dr 
Abbott gives the historical explanation of anacrusis in English 
Lessons, -p. 189 : " In early English poets syllables which precede 
the accented syllable are not necessary to the scansion." He 
gives to such syllables the name of the " catch." 

The next irregularity which I will speak of is the substitu- 
tion of the dactyl in the place of the trochee. Dr Abbott con- 
fines this licence to the first foot, and it is, no doubt, most 
frequent in that position, as in 

Thoroughly | to un|do me j 
Wearieth | me May | Lili|an a 
Shadowy | dreaming | Ade|line a 
But in a | city | glori|ous A 
Many a | chance the | years be]get A 

but it is also found in other places, especially in long lines, as 
in the Lotos Eaters — 

Where the | walloioing \ monster | spouted | his foam j foimtains | in the | 

sea A 

Wellington — 

He that j ever | following \ her comjmand A 

and the Vision of Sin — 

Moved with | violence | changed in | hue A 
Caught each | other with \ wild grilmaces | 
Half invisible \ to the | view A 
Wheeling | with ■pre\cipitate \ paces | 
To the I melody \ till they | flew A 



128 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

This is, however, a very irregular poem, and we should perhaps 
class the passage among those in which there is an intentional 
mixture of rhythms, the trochaic and dactylic. 

The inversion of the accent is less common than in the 
iambic metre, but is occasionally found in the first foot, e.g. 

The g61d-|eyed | kingcups | fine a 
The frail | blue bell | peereth | over | 
From deep | thought himfself he | rouses | 

To speak now of the combination of trochaic lines. We find 
poems made up of the truncated three-foot, as the seventeenth 
stanza of Maud, but this is, I think, a solitary instance. The 
truncated four-foot is common, e.g. The Owl, Adeline (though in 
this we find anacrusis freely employed, giving an iambic colour- 
ing), the song in the Millers Daughter ; also the alternation of 
the complete and truncated four-foot, as in Lord of Burleigh. 
The truncated four-foot is often varied by the intermixture of 
longer and shorter lines, as in Lilian we find it associated with 
complete four-foot and truncated or hypermetrical three-foot ; 
in Deserted House with truncated three and truncated two ; in 
The Dirge with hypermetrical four, truncated two and complete 
four ; in Locksley Hall we have truncated eight-foot varied by 
the occasional insertion of a complete line. I reserve the more 
difficult combinations till we have got the analysis of the 
trisyllabic metres. 

Of the ascending disyllabic, or iambic, metre we find the 
following varieties in Tennyson : two-foot, as in The Poet — 

The love j of love | 
three-foot — 

The laldy of | Shalott | 
three-foot with feminine ending — 

In days | of old | Amphi(on 
four-foot — 

O had I I lived | when song | was great | 
four-foot feminine — 

She onjly said | my life | is wea(ry 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 129 

five-foot — 

The mel|low re|flex of | a win|ter moon | 
five-foot feminine — 

The vex|ed ed|dies of | its way|ward bro(ther 

six-foot — 

Give us I long rest | or death | dark death | or dream|ful ease | 
It is I the last | new year | that I ] shall ev|er see | 

seven-foot (usually divided into four-foot and three-foot) — 

I thought I to pass | away | before || but yet | alive | I am | 

These are combined into poems as follows : we find three-foot 
masculine and feminine indiscriminately with anapaestic varia- 
tions in Claribel — 

Where Cla|ribel | low li(eth 
The bree|zes pause | and die | 
But the so/|emn oak | tree sigh(eth 

Four-foot alternating with three-foot is very common, as in 
The Talking Oak — 

Once more | the gate | behind | me falls | 
Once more | before | my face | 

It is known in the hymn-books as ' common metre.' Sometimes 
we have stanzas of 4-4-4-3, as 

Of old I sat free|dom on | the heights | 
The thun|ders break |ing at | her feet | 

Above I her shook | the star|ry lights | 
She heard | the tor|rents meet | 

And there are other combinations, as in Sir Galahad, etc. In 
Amphion and the Brook we have four-foot masculine alter- 
nating with three-foot feminine. It has usually a light playful 
touch — 

My fa|ther left | a park | to me ( 

But it I is wild | and bar(ren 
A gar|den too | with scarce | a tree | 

And was|ter than j a war(ren 

And out I again | I curve | and flow | 

To join I the brimlming ri(ver 
For men | may come j and men | may go | 

But I I go on I for ev(er 

M. M. 9 



130 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Will Waterproof is in eight-line stanzas, the first half of 
the stanza consisting of alternate masculine four-foot and three- 
foot ; the latter half of four-foot masculine and three-foot 
feminine. The four or eight-line stanza of four- feet (the ' long 
metre ' of hynm-books) is the commonest of all. It is used in 
Lady Clara Vere de Vere, Day Bream, Love thou thy Land, 
which last, as well as the whole of In Memoriam, takes a 
peculiar character from the rhyming of the first and fourth and 
second and third lines. The five-foot line is found in combina- 
tion with others, as in Dream of Fair Women, where we have a 
four-line stanza of 5-5-5-3 — 

I read | before | my eye|lids dropt | their .shade | 

The leg|end of | good wom|en long | ago | 
Sling by I the mornjing star | of song | who naade | 

His inus|ic heard | below | 

In the beautiful Requiescat we find it in combination with four 
and three — 

Fair is | her cot|tage in | its place | 
Where yon | broad wa|ter sweet|ly slow|ly glides | 

It sees I itself | from thatch | to base | 
Dream in j the slilding tides. | 

The May Queen is composed of six and seven-foot lines. 

The first irregularity I shall mention is the use of the mono- 
syllabic first foot (as in Chaucer), what I have distinguished as 
initial truncation, in opposition to the final truncation of the 
trochaic line. Usually it is found in poems where anapaestic 
substitution is common ; as in the lines quoted in a former 
chapter from the A rabian Nights and Lady Clara Vere de Vere. 
Compare also 
Ode to Memory — 

A Streng then me | enligh|ten me | 
A Sub|tle-though|ted, my|riad-mind(ed 

Lady Clare — 

I trow I they did | not part | in scorn | 
A Lov|ers long | betrothed | were they | 
A False|ly falsejly have | ye done | 

mo|ther she said | if this | be true | 

A Dropt ] her head | in the mai| den's hand | 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 131 

The Sailor Boy — 

A Fool I he ans|wered death | is sure | 
To those I that stay ! and those | that roam | 

The poem in which truncation occurs most frequently is the 
Flower, which is so irregular that it should perhaps be reckoned 
among the examples of anapaestic rhythm — 

A Up I there came | a flower | 
The peolple said | a weed | 
But thieves | from o'er | the wall | 

A Stole ! the seed | by night | 

The second irregularity is that of feminine rhythm, of which 
I need say nothing. The third, substitution of anapaest for 
iambic, as in the Sailor Boy — 

The^ are all \ to blame | thei/ are all | to blame j 
A Dedication — 

Dearer | and near|er as | the rap|ioJ of life | 

The fourth, substitution of trochee (and even dactyl in the first 
foot) for iamb. Example of dactyl in Arabian Nights — 

Serene | with ar|gent-lid|ded eyeS I 
Amorous \ and lash|es like | to rays | 

So Wordsworth's exquisite line — 

Murmuring \ from Glairama|ra's in|most caves I 

The trochee is sometimes found in the middle of the line — 
Of all I the glad | new year | Moth^ \ the mad|dest mer|riest day \ 

Pyrrhic and spondaic substitution, though not so common in 
the shorter iambic verse, as in the heroic, are still far from 
unfrequent : compare 

Come then | pure hands I and bear | the head I 

2 111 

Thou comest | much wept | for : such | a breeze | 
Compelled | thy can|vas, and | my prayer | 



Was as I the whis|per of | an air | 

10 

Trisyllabic metre is either ascending like the iambic, 
which we know as anapaestic, or descending like the trochee, 
which we know as dactylic. We find examples of anapaestic 

9—2 



132 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

lines, consisting of one foot, in the Song beginning " A spirit 
haunts " — 

At his work | you may hear | him sob | and sigh | 4 

In the walks | 1 

At the moist j rich smell | of the rot|tiug leaves | 4 

And the breath \ 1 

In the same poem we have the two-foot anapaest — 

Of the moulldering flowers | 

We find the three-foot line in Maud — 

In the mead|ow im|der the hall | 

To the death | for their na|tive land | 

The four-foot in the Song — 

For at e|veatide lis|tening earlnestly | 

and in the Poet's Mind — 

In the heart | of the gar|den the mer|ry bird chants | 
The five-foot in Maud — 

Till I well I could weep | for a time | so sorjdid and mean | 

And also the six-foot — 

Did he fling | himself down ] who knows | for a vast ] speculajtion had 
failed | 

which is the metre of the Northern Farmer — 

"The Amoigh|ty's a taaikin of you | to 'issen | my friend" | a said | 

The seven-foot in Sea Fairies — 

A A Whith |er away | from the high | green field | and the hap|py 
bloss|oming shore | 

The eight-foot in the same — 

A AWhith|er away | lis|ten and stay | mar|iner mar|iner fly | no more | 

In this the first, third, and fifth feet are monosyllabic, a license 
of which I shall speak directly. 

The variations are (1) the iamb, of which all the longer 
lines quoted afford instances, even in the last foot, where Dr 
Abbott denies its use (Lessons, p. 211). Sometimes a line is 
made up of these without a single anapaest, as in the Song — 

The air | is damp | and hushed | and close | 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 133 

The iamb may, of course, be represented by a spondee, as — '■ 

And the year's | last rose | 

But (2) at the beginning of the line the anapaest may be 
represented by a monosyllable, the two unaccented syllables 
disappearing without altering the character of the verse. Thus 
the line 

I would kiss I them of |ten unjder the sea | 

is repeated in the form 

And kiss | them again | till they | kissed me | 

Leave out ' and ' and the rhythm is unaltered. This law of the 
anapaestic metre is not, I think, noticed by Dr Abbott, yet 
examples of such initial truncation are innumerable. The 
truncated two-foot is found in the Merman — 

A A Who I would be | 
A A merlman bold | 
A A Sit] ting alone | 
A A Singling alone | 
A AUn|der the sea | 
With a crown | of gold | 
A A On I a throne | 

truncated three-foot in Maud — 

Maud I with her ex|quisite face | 

truncated four-foot in the same — 

Singling alone j in the morn|ing of life | 

truncated five-foot — 

Knew I that the death | white cufjtain meant | but sleep j 

truncated six-foot — 

Why I do they prate | of the bless |ings of peace | who have made j them 

a curse | 
Glojry of warjrior glo|ry of or|ator glojry of song | 

It may be asked what reason is there for calling these 
lines ' metamorphous anapaestic,' rather than ' metamorphous 
dactylic ' ? The answer has been already given in a former 
chapter ; it is that the rhythm of the lines must be interpreted 
by the general rhythm of the piece, and all the lines quoted 



134 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

come from passages, which are either distinctly anapaestic, or 
which at any rate contain lines which can only be explained as 
anapaestic, while they have no lines which must necessarily be 
taken as dactylic. Thus the last line, taken alone, would 
naturally be classed as truncated dactylic ; but in the same 
poem ( Wages) we find the indisputable anapaest 

The walges of sin | is death | if the wajges of virjtue be dust | 
She desires | no isles | of the blest | no quilet seats | of the just | . 

So in Byron we have 

Bright I be the place | of thy soul | ( = 3) 

No love|lier spir|it than thine | ( — 3) 

E'er burst | from its mor|tal control | ( — 3) 

In the orbs | of the bless |ed to shine | (3) 

Verses like these were long a puzzle to me. Their melody 
was indubitable, but I could not see what was the scientific 
account of the rhythm till I was struck by the analogy with 
the old monosyllabic initial foot in the iambic line. 

Besides these main variations, we find the use of feminine 
rhythm ; as in Maud — 

Ah what I shall I be | at fif(ty 
If I find I the world | so bit(ter. 

And she knows | it not ] oh if | she knew (it 
To know I her beaujty might half | undo (it. 

The anapaestic rhythm is a great favourite with Tennyson, 
especially in his later poems. It is used with much freedom 
as regards the number of feet employed. One of the most 
uniform in this respect is the Welcome to Alexandra, written 
in the four-foot anapaest. Initial truncation is very common : 
in fact there is only one line which commences with the pure 
anapaest — 

We are each | all Dane | in our well come of thee | 
In one line we have initial and sectional truncation — 

Roll I and rejoice | ju|bilant voice | 

Roll I as a ground | swell dashed | on the strand | 

The two-foot trochaic * Alexandra ' forms a refrain. 

The six-foot anapaest is used in many important poems, as 
the two Northern Farmers, the Grandmother, the Higher Pan- 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 135 

theism. Wages, a good deal of Maud, Rizpah, First Quarrel, 
Northern Cobbler, Entail, Children's Hospital, Maeldune, and 
the very irregular Revenge. I will notice here a few peculiari- 
ties in the use of the metre. In the Grandmother we have two 
lines which would naturally be read as instances of the seven- 
foot anapaest — 

Sevjenty years | ago | my dar|ling sev[enty years | ago | 
but this may be reduced to six by reading the first 'seventy' 
as a disyllabic. In the other, a seven-foot line could only be 
avoided by the heroic remedy of giving four syllables to the 
first foot — 
And whit whit whit | in the bush | beside | me chiiirupt the night| ingale | 

The first four sections of Maud are in six-foot anapaest. There 
is a considerable variety in the use of the metre. In section 
iii. almost every line suffers initial truncation, which is rare in 
section i. In section iv. we find the usual break at the end of 
the third foot disregarded, e.g. 

Half lost I in the lijquid a|zure bloom | of a cresjcent of sea | 
The sijlent sap|phire-spang[led mar|riage ring I of the law | 

The normal line of the Revenge is also six-foot anapaest, as 

He had on|ly a hunjdred 8ea|men to work | the ship | and to fight | 
Sir Rich|ard spoke | and he laughed | and we roared | a hurrah | and so | 

This is occasionally divided into two sections, sometimes 
rhyming, as 

And the half | my men | are sick||. I must fly | but fol|low quick | 

and admitting a superfluous syllable after either section, or 
both, as 

Then sware | Lord Thom|as How(ard||: 'Fore God | I am | no cow(ard 
By their moun |tain-like | San Phil(ip || that of fif jteen hun|dred guns | 

We sometimes find initial truncation giving rise to a 
trochaic rhythm in the first half of the line, as 

A Thoulsands of | their sol(diers || looked down | from their decks | and 
laughed | 

It admits also lines varying in length from two to seven 
feet, as 

Anap. 2. And a day | less or more | 
At sea ' or ashore | 



136 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

sometimes truncated 

A Long I and loud | 
Anap. 3. So they watched | what the end | would be | 
Anap. 4. But Sir Rich|ard cried | in his Engllish pride | 

In two instances a pynhic takes the place of an anapaest, 
unless we give four syllables to one foot, 

But he rose | iip6n | their decks | and he cried | 
And he fell | upon | their decks | and he died | 

Anap. 5. And a wave | like the wave | that is raised | by an earth|-quake 
grew I 

7. And the sun | went down | and the stars | came out | far ojver the 
sumjmer sea | 

Truncated in 

A God I of bat|tles, was ev|er a bat|tle like this | in the world | before ( 

The three-foot anapaest is usually combined with others; 
thus in Maud (sections v. and vi.) it is joined with four- foot and 
occasional five-foot lines. In vii. we have the three-foot pre- 
served throughout, sometimes with feminine rhythm, except for 
two four-foot lines ; viii. is a mixture of three-foot and four- 
foot ; ix. joins two, three, and four- foot. In x. the first three 
stanzas are of four feet, the fourth and fifth mixed of three and 
four ; xi. is three-foot throughout ; xii. is mainly three-foot, but 
has occasional four-foot lines, and is disguised by prevalent 
truncation and feminine rhythm ; xiii. is almost entirely four- 
foot, with only three lines of three feet ; xiv. is mainly three- 
foot, but rises into four and even five-foot ; xv. is four-foot, with 
one line of two-foot ; xvi, mainly four varied with three and 
two. In xvii. and xviii. the feeling changes to a tone of more 
assured happiness, and we have a corresponding change in the 
rhythm, xvii. consisting of truncated three-foot trochaic, and 
xviii. (perhaps the most perfect example of the flowing richness 
of Tennyson's rhythm) consisting of iambic with anapaestic 
variation, in lines varying from two to six feet. The four which 
follow are three and four-foot anapaests. The more passionate 
movement of xxiii. (Part ii 1 in new arrangement) shews itself 
in three, four, and five-foot anapaestic lines, with occasional 
iambic variation ; xxiv. (Ft. ii 2) is three and four-foot ana- 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 137 

paest, with marked initial truncation ; xxv. (Pt. ii 3) and xxvi. 
(Pt. II 4) three and four-foot anapaest, with iambic variation, 
the latter also with feminine ending; xxvii. (Pt. ]i 5), as suits 
its subject, is the most violent in rhythm of any, consisting 
of anapaestic lines, varying from two to five feet in length, and 
shewing examples not only of initial tinincation, as in 

Dead | long dead | 
but of monosyllabic feet in other parts of the verse, e.g. 

Long I dead | 
And the hoofs | of the hor|ses beat | beat | 

The last section of Maud is regular five-foot anapaest. 

In " Break, break, break," we have three-foot anapaest 
arranged in verses of four lines. In three verses the third line 
contains four feet, and in two the first line is represented by 
the three monosyllables " Break, break, break." The Poet's 
Song is mainly four-foot, but is varied by several three-foot 
lines. In the Song " A spirit haunts," the metre is variously 
four, two, and one-foot. The song in Sea Fairies varies from 
three to eight-foot, and truncation, as I mentioned above, is 
very freely used : thus we have 
Whi|ther away || whilther away || whijther away || fly | no more || 

the line being divided into four sections, admits of four mono- 
syllabic feet. In the Islet the four-foot anapaest prevails — 

Whilther O whijther love | shall we go | 
varied with three-foot — 

That it makes | one wea|ry to hear | 

truncated two-foot — 

No I love no | 

and complete five-foot running into pure iambic — 

With majny a riv|ulet high | against | the sun | 
The falcets of | the glor|ious moun|taiu flash | 

The Flower has been treated above as a specimen of iambic, 
but it might be viewed as a three-foot anapaest, broken by one 
four-foot, and with prevailing disyllabic substitution — 

Once I in a gold|en hour | 
I cast I tc earth | a seed | 



138 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

The Victim is mainly four-foot, with disyllabic substitution — 

A plague I upon | the peojple fell | 

The priest i in hor|ror about | his alt(ar 

To Thor I and 0|din lift|ed a hand ] 

The ino|ther said | they have ta|ken the child | 

Sud|denly from | him breaks | his wife | 

But some of the verses are followed by lines of two feet, 
forming groups equivalent to eight-foot lines in rhythm, e.g. 

Help I us from fa|mine And plague | and strife || What | would you have | 
of us? Hu|man life I 

But, it may be said, is it not easier to take these as 
dactylic, dividing as follows 

Help us from | famine And | plague and | strife a A 
What would you | have of us ? | Human | life a A 

the two last dactyls being represented by trochee and long 
syllable ? The answer is that in either case the metre will be 
metamorphoiis or disguised, and that we shall best preserve the 
unity of the poem by interpreting the disguise so as to agree 
with the undisguised corresponding lines in other stanzas, e.g. 

They have ta|ken our son | They will have | his life | 
Is he I your dear | est Or I | the wife | ? 

The same question arises about the metre of Lucknow, 
which may be generally represented by the following scheme 



Is this to be treated as anapaestic or dactylic ? That is, at which 
end of the line must the inevitable truncation be placed ? Are 
we to regard the first syllable as representing an anapaest, 
or the last as representing a dactyl ? The pauses sometimes 
seem to suit the one, sometimes the other. If the question 
had to be settled for each line taken separately, we should, 
I think, naturally scan the first of the two which follow as a 
dactyl, and the second as an anapaest, as marked by the bars ; 

Bullets would | sing by our | foreheads and | bullets would | rain at our | 

feet A A 
A A Mine ? | yes a mine | Countermine | . Down, down | and creep | 
through the hole | 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 139 

There is no difficulty however in scanning the first as ana- 
paestic, while it is almost impossible to scan the second as 
dactylic ; and the refrain 

And ev|er upon | the top|mo8t roof ) our ban|ner of Englland blew | 
thus schematized (w-ww-^-v-v^-wv^-w-) divides into 
seven iambs or anapaests more naturally than into seven dactyls 
with anacrusis and final truncation. 

The dactylic metre is much more rarely used than the ana- 
paest. There is, I think, only one example of the pure dactyl, 
viz. the Light Brigade. The essential point of course is that 
the stress is not on the last syllable — 

Cannon to | right of them | 
Cannon to | left of them | 
Cannon in | front of them | 
Volleyed and 1 thundered | 

The metre is two-foot, with frequent substitution of the trochee 
for the second foot. Sometimes the rhythmical stress is opposed 
to the verbal accent, as in 

While horse and | hero fell | 

We do not find in Tennyson the monosyllable for the dactyl, 
as in Hood's 

Take her up | tenderly | 
Lift her with | care a a 

In Heber's hymn — 

Brightest and | best of the | sons of the | morning a 
Dawn on our | darkness and | lend us thine | aid a A 

we have the last foot represented alternately by a monosyllable 
and a trochee. 

The last line of the alcaic stanza might be described as a 
four-foot dactyl with trochaic substitution in the last two feet — 
Milton a | name to re|80und for | ages | 

Since the different metres are thus capable of interchange 
and transmutation, it is easy to understand how a poem com- 
mencing in one metre will run into another. Thus Madeline 
begins with two iambic lines (4 + and 4), the third line is trun- 
cated four-foot trochaic ; the fourth again is four-foot iambic ; 



140 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

fifth trochaic truncated; sixth and seventh iambic; and so, 
throughout, the two rhythms alternate. The Deserted House is 
one in which trochaic rhythm passes into iambic. In Oriana 
the second and third verses have a predominant trochaic 
rhythm, while the others are iambic with the trochaic refrain. 
The Lady of Shalott begins with iambic, but there are many 
pure trochaic stanzas. Eleanore is mainly iambic, with ana- 
paestic variation — 

With the hum | of swar|ming bees | 

Into dream|ful slumbjer lulled | 

but in stanza iv. changes to trochaic, e.g. 

How may | full-sailed | verse exipress A 
How may | measured | words ad |ore A 

The Choric Song in Lotos-Eaters begins with iambic, of length 
varying from three to six feet. In the third stanza we find 
occasional trochaic substitution, e.g. 

Nightly I dew-fed | and tur|ning yel|low 
and initial truncation. 

Falls I and floats | adown ( the air | 

which prepares us for the trochaic commencement of iv.. 

Hateful 1 is the | dark-blue | sky 
Vaulted | o'er the | dark-blue | sea 

and for the series of long trochaics (seven and eight-foot) which 
close the eighth stanza. In the Vision of Sin the rhythms are 
appropriated to separate sections of the poem, and express 
different tones of thought. In the Ode on Wellington we have 
anapaestic rhythm in the first and fifth stanzas, iambic in third, 
fourth, and seventh, trochaic mixed in sixth, eighth, and ninth. 
Iambic is found mixed with anapaest, sometimes irregularly, 
sometimes according to a fixed law. Thus Mariana in the 
South is regular four-foot iambic, but the last two lines have 
invariably the trisyllabic rhythm — 

And ah ■ she sang | to be all | alone | 
To live I forgotjten and die | forlorn | 

Similarly, The Sifters, which is in regular four-foot iambic, is 
broken by the trisyllabic refrain 

The wind | is howlling in tur|ret and tree j 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 141 

In The Daisy the stanza consists of four four-foot iambic lines, 
the third with feminine rhythm, and the fourth with anapaestic 
substitution in third place — 

I stood I among \ the sil|ent stat|ues 
And stat|ued pin|nacles mute | as they | 

In the Verses to Maurice the first three lines are the same 
as in The Daisy, but the fourth has anapaestic substitution in 
the second place as well as the third, and the first foot is a 
monosyllable : with which the superfluous syllable of the pre- 
ceding line naturally connects itself — 

And furjther on | the hoar|y chan(nel 
Tumb|les a breakjer on chalk | and sand | 

Of course it is possible to treat the fourth line as dactylic, with 
the substitution of a trochee for the third and a monosyllable 
for the fourth dactyl. In that case the last two lines of the 
verse would be a slight modification of the alcaic 

God-gifted organ voice of England 
Milton a name to resound for ages 

this latter having two trochees at the end of the fourth line. 

Of irregular mixture we have many examples. The Dying 
Swa7i begins with four-foot varied by three-foot iambic : the 
third line suffers initial truncation : anapaestic substitution is 
frequent — 

With an in)ner voice | the riv|er ran | 
Adown I it floatled a dyling swan | 

In the second stanza the anapaestic character becomes more 
marked, and in the third it becomes pure anapaestic. The May 
Queen commences with seven-foot iambic, with free anapaestic 
substitution, as in 

And the wild | marsh mar|igold shines | like fire | in swamps | and 

hol|low8 gray | 
And the rivjulet in | the flow|ery dale | will mer|rily dance | and play | 

Occasionally we have six-foot iambics, e.g. 

If you do I not call | me loud | when the day | begins | to bi-eak | 
As I I came up | the val|ley || whom think | ye should | I see j 



142 ON ENGLISH METKE. 

We have one example of initial truncation, accompanied by 
feminine caesura, 

All I the val|ley mo(ther || will be fresh | and green | and still | 

One line appears to have eight feet, unless we compress four 
syllables into the first, or make * so ' extra-metrical — 
So you I must wake | and call | me earjly call | me earjly mojther dear | 
There is some difficulty in the rhyming of the following — 

For I would see the sun rise upon the glad new year. 
To-night I saw the sun set : he set and left behind*. 

Regarding this as a six-foot line, we find a superfluous syllable 
at the end of the third foot, which is hardly possible to connect 
with what follows as the first syllable of an anapaest, because 
the word itself requires some stress, and in the second line is 
followed by a decided pause. I am inclined to think we must 
treat rise and set as monosyllabic feet, thus making a seven-foot 
line. 

Death of the Old Year is mainly three or four- foot iambic, 
but we find ii diversified with anapaests, as marked as 

He gave | me a friend | and a true | true love | 
And the new | year will take | 'em away j 

Some lines shew initial truncation, e.g. 

A Toll I ye the church- 1 bell sad | and slow | 
A And I tread softlly and I speak low | 
A Ev|ery one | for his own | 

Lady Glare is in four-line stanzas of four-foot iambics, 
diversified with three-foot. Some verses are regular, but in 
most there is a strong anapaestic colouring, e.g. 

Are ye out | of your mind ] my nurse | my nurse | 
Said Lajdy Clare | that ye speak | so wild | 

There are several examples of initial truncation, as 

Dropt I her head | in the maid|en's hand | 

The Flower has been already mentioned. The Ringlet is about 

* Mr Boby compares the 73rd line of the Atys 

jam jam dolet quod egi, jam jamque poenitet 
and refers to his School Lat. Gr. § 934. 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 143 

equally divided between iambic and anapaestic. Beginning 
with the feminine anapaest — 

Your ringllets your ring(let8 
it proceeds with five regular iambics, and then bursts into 
the strong anapaests — 

And then | shall I know | it is all | true gold | 
To flame | and spark|le and stream | as of old | 

falling back into the quiet iambic — 

And all | her stars | decay | 

It contains three examples of initial truncation — 

A I I that took I you for | true gold | 

A She I that gave | you's bought | and sold | 

A Burn I you glos|sy her|etic burn | 

and the refrain consists in two instances of monosyllabic feet — 

Sold, sold, 
Burn, burn. 

as may be seen by comparing the intermediate refrain — 
You gol|den lie | 
The Victim begins with regular four- foot iambic, breaking 
into anapaestic towards the end of each eight-line stanza, as 

The priest | in horjror about | his al(tar 

To Thor I and 0|din lifjted a hand | 
He caught | her away | with a sudjden cry | 

Maud contains several instances of mixed iambic and anapaestic, 
cf. xi., xviii., xxiii. 

I proceed now to mixed trochaic metres. The mixture of 
trochaic and iambic has been already treated of. Trochaic, 
varied by the intermixture of dactyls according to a fixed 
law, is found in Boadic&a, which is mainly eight-foot trochaic, 
sometimes complete, but usually truncated, with one or more 
dactyls in the last three feet — 

While a|bout the | shore of | Mona || those Ne|ronian | legionalries a 
Girt by | half the | tribes of | Britain || near the | colony | Camuloldune A 

In the following we have four consecutive dactyls — 

There the | hive of | Roman j liars || worship a | gluttonous | emperor | idiot | 



144 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

I think the rhythm would have been improved by omitting 
emperor, thus making a truncated eight-foot : but the final 
dactyl, giving eight complete feet, is also found in 

Hear it | gods the | gods have | heard it || Ijcenian | Coriltaiiian | 
Tho' the I Roman | eagle | shadow thee || though the | gathering | enemy | 

narrow thee | 
Up my I Britons | on my | chariot |1 on my | chargers j trample them | 

under us | 

In one line we find three dactyls in the first half — 

Bloodily | bloodily | fall the | battle-axe || unex|hausted in|exora|ble 

There is only one line in which the dactylic substitution is not 
found in the last three feet — 

There they | dwelt and | there they | rioted || there | there they ] dwell no | 
more 

The metre is in length, and in trisyllabic final rhythm an 
imitation of the Atys of Catullus, of which the type is 

Phrygium nemus citato || cupide | pede te|tigit | 

The Poet's Mind begins with four and three-foot trochaic, 
but passes by a rather unusual combination into anapaestic — 

Holy I water | will I | pour | 
Into I every | spicy | flower | 
Of the laujrel shrubs | that hedge | it around | 
In your eye | there is death | 
There is frost | in your breath | 

The hendecasyllabic is a five-foot trochaic, in which the second 
foot is a dactyl — 

Look I I come to the | test a j tiny | poem | 
All comjposed in a | metre | of CajtuUus | 



I think I have now noticed all the metres which occur in 
Tennyson, except his alcaics. These being, like the hendeca- 
syllabics, pure imitation from a foreign source, might be 
omitted in an examination of English metres ; but they admit 
of simple analysis in the terms which I have employed. The 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 145 

first two lines are made up of five iambs, the fourth of which 
suffers anapaestic substitution^, 

might|y mouthed | inven|tor of har|monies ( 

The final iambic is usually pyrrhic, so as to give the impres- 
sion of a double dactyl at the end, and we might if we pleased 
describe the line as consisting of two sections, the first a two- 
foot iambic with feminine ending, the second two dactyls. 
The third line is four-foot feminine — 

God-gift|ed or|gan voice | of Eng(land 

The fourth, two dactyls followed by two trochees — 

Milton a | name to re|sound for | ages | 

It has been observed that Tennyson's classical metres are 
conformed to the law of quantitative, as well as of accentual 
rh3rthm, 

1 On the alcaic metre see Roby's School Gr. § 936 and p. 366 b. 



M. M. 10 



CHAPTER IX. 

NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 
Illustrated from the Hymn-Book. 

I PROCEED now to test our metrical analysis on the hymns 
contained in the ordinary collections, such as Hymnal Compa- 
nion and Hymns Ancient and Modem. In old-fashioned hymn- 
books each hymn is marked with certain mystic signs, which 
serve as guide-posts to the corresponding tunes. Sometimes 
these marks are references to psalms of the same metre in 
the old version by Sternhold and Hopkins ; thus * ps. 104 ' 
denotes an eight-line stanza of anap. 2 

Oh w(5r|ship the Kfng || All-gl6|riou8 above | 

* ps. 148 ' denotes an eight-line stanza, four lines consisting of 
3 iambs, and four of 2 iambs, as 

Ye bound|less realms | of joy || Exalt | your Ma|ker's name | 
His praise | your song | employ || Above I the starjry frame | 
Your voilces raise | Ye cher|ubim | 

And serlaphim | To sing | his praise | 

Sometimes they denote the number of syllables in each line ; 
thus 8s 7s stands for a stanza of alternate troch. 4 and troch. 3, 
as in 

Through the | day thy | love has | spared us | 
Now we I lay us | down to | rest A 

7s 6s stands for alternate iamb 3 -I- and iamb 3, as 

From Green [land's i|cy moun(tains 
From Inldia's cor|al strand j 

It is evident that the same figures might have been used for 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 147 

the converse rhythms, thus 8s 7s might have stood for an 
iambic stanza of 4 and 3+ feet alternately, such as 

The Lord | of might | on Si|nai's brow | 
Gave forth | his voice | of thun(der 

But the great majority are marked LM, SM, CM, pm, denoting 
respectively Long, Short, Common, and Peculiar Measures. The 
first three are four-line iambic stanzas ; in lm all the lines 
contain 4 iambs ; in SM the third line has 4, the rest 3 iambs ; 
in CM the first and third have 4, the alternate lines 3 iambs. 
Peculiar Measure is the general receptacle for all hymns that 
do not come under any of the other heads. 

We will begin by classifying all under their genera, Iambic, 
Trochaic, Dactylic, Anapaestic, and Mixed ; subdividing them 
into species according to the number of feet, and mentioning 
any particular varieties which are found in each species. 

Iambic. Stanzas of not more than four lines^. 

3.2.3.3 The sun is sinking fast, The daylight dies. 

3.3.3.3 We love the place Lord, Wherein thine honour dwells. 

3 + . 3 . 3 + . 3 Brief life is here our portion, Brief sorrow, short-lived 

care. 
var. There's a friend for little children Above the bright blue 

sky. 

[Here an anapaest is substituted for the first iamb in every 
stanza.] 

3.3.4.2 The Grod of Abraham praise. Who reigns enthroned above. 
Ancient of everlasting days, And God of love. 

3.3.4.3 (sm) My soul repeat his praise. 

3 +.3. 4. 3 I want to be like Jesus, So lowly and so meek; 

For no one marked an angry word, That ever heard him 



4.3.4.2 Our bless'd Redeemer ere He breathed. 

4.3.4.3 (cm) God moves in a mysterious way. 
4.3-|-.4.3-f The King of love my Shepherd is, 

Whose goodness faileth never. 

^ I include under this all stanzas, though they may contain more than four 
lines, which merely repeat the metre. It will be noticed that many of the 
subjoined examples suffer trochaic substitution in the first foot. 

10—2 



148 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

4.4.4.-2 Fierce raged the tempest o'er the deep, 
Watch did thine anxious servants keep, 
But thou I wast wrapped | in dream|less sleep | 
A Calm I and still | 

4.4.4.2 My God, my Father, while I stray. 

4.4.4.3 Just as I am without one plea. 

4.4.4.4 (lm) Before Jehovah's awful throne. 
var. Come Holy Ghost our souls inspire. 

» * * « 

That through the ages all along 
A This may be our endless song ; 
A Praise to thy eternal merit. 

[In the last line we have feminine ending, and both in it 
and in the preceding there is initial truncation.] 

4 +.4. 4 +.4 Bread of | the world | in merjcy bro(ken 
Wine of | the soul | in mer|cy shed | 

5.5.5.5 Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. 

var. (couplet) Come take by faith the body of your Lord. 

(triplet) For all the saints who from their labours rest. 
5 +.3. 5 +.3 A voice | is heard | on earth | of kins|folk weep(ing 
The loss of one they love. 

5+.5 + .5+.2+ Lord of | our life | and God j of our | salva(tion, 
* * * * 

Lord God | Almigh(ty 
5 + .5.5+.5 for I the peace | which flow|eth as | a riv(er 

Making earth's desert places bloom and smile. 

Iambic. Stanzas of more than four lines. 

3.3.3.3.2.2.2.2 (148th ps.) Ye boundless realms of joy. 
[Not unfrequently the last four lines are thrown into two, 
as in 

Hills of the North rejoice. 

River and mountain spring. 
Hark to the Advent voice, 
Valley and lowland sing: 
Though absent long, your Lord is nigh ; 
He judgment brings and victory. 

A peculiar effect is given in this specimen by the initial 
trochaic substitution in most of the short lines.] 

3.3.2.3.3.3.2 (God save the Queen) Thou, whose Almighty word. 
3.2.3.2.3.3.2 Nearer my God to thee. 

3.2.3.2.3.3.3.2 There is a happy land. 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 149 

[There is a dactylic ring about these verses, and the sixth line 
in each stanza is irregular. In the second and third stanzas it 
seems to begin with an anapaest ('when from sin,' 'be a crown') : 
in the first with a dactyl (' worthy is '). I think however that 
the line ' And bright | above | the sun | ' is too decisively iambic 
to allow of the hymn being assigned to any other genus.] 

3.3 + . 3.3 + . 3. 3. 3. 3 Now thank | we all | our God | 

With heart | and hands | and voi(ces. 
3+.3+.2.2.3+ (twice) Head of | the church | trium(phant, 
We joy I fully | adore (thee ; 
Till thou I appear, | 
Thy mem|bers here | 
Shall sing | like those | in glo(ry. 
3+. 3.3+. 3. 4. 4 The day is past and over, All thanks Lord to thee. 
4.3.4.3.3.3.3.3 O Paradise, O Paradise, 

Who doth not crave for rest. 
3.3.4.3.4.4 Change is our portion here. 

4.3.4.3.4.4 Lord of my life whose tender care. 
4.3.4.4.3 Eight days amid this world of woe 

The holy Babe had been. 
4.3.4.3.4.3 var. Father I know that all my life. 
4.4.3.4.4.3 Lord how happy should we be 
If we could cast our care on thee 
If we from self could rest. 
4. 4.3 + . 4. 4. 4. 3+ For ever to behold him shine 
For evermore to call him mine 
And see | him still | before (me. 

[Frequent anapaestic substitution in the first foot.] 

4.4.4.4.2.2.4 Lord of the harvest, thee we hail. 

4.3+. 4.3 + . 4.3 + . 4.3 + . 4. 4 O Rock of Ages, since on thee 

By grace | my feet | are plan(ted. 
4.2.4.2.4.2 My God I thank thee, who hast made 

The earth so bright. 
4.3 + . 4.3 + . 4. 4. 3+ (Luther's Hymn) 

Great God what do I see and hear. 
3 +.3 (four times repeated) var. The sands | of time \ are sink(ing. 

[The eighth line of each stanza seems to be iamb - 3, thus 

A In I Eramanluel's land | ] 

4. 3. 4. 3. 4. 3. 3 + .3 var. A Broth|er thou | art gone | before (us. 



160 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

[In this very irregular hymn of Milman's, the normal verse 
is shown to be iambic by such lines as 

The toil|some way | thou'st travjelled o'er | 
And borne I the heavjy load; | 

but there is frequent anapaestic substitution in the first foot ; 
the first line of the first stanza and of the refrain have a 
feminine ending ; and several lines sufifer initial truncation, as 

A Earth | to earth | and dust | to dust | 
A Sin I can ne|ver taint | thee now] 

2.5.5.5.2 Come labour on, 

Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain. 
5.2.5.2.5.2 Lord my God, do thou thy holy will 

I will lie still. 
5.2.5.2.5.5 

Lead kindly Light amid the incircling gloom, Lead thou me on. 
5 + . 5.5 + . 5. 5. 5 Thou know^est. Lord, | the wea|riness \ and sor(row 
Of the I sad heart | that comes | to thee | for rest. | 

Trochaic. Stanzas of not more than four lines. 

3 . 3 - . 3 . 3 - Now the j day is | over | 

Night is I drawing | nigh A 
3.3.3.3 Jesus meek and lowly. 

4 . 3 — . 4 . 2 — Art thou weary, art thou languid. 

Art thou sore distrest ? 
4 — .4-. 4-. 2— Christian seek not yet repose. 
4-. 4-. 4-. 3— Three in One and One in Three. 
4 — . 4 — . 4 - . 4 — ('7s') Hark the herald angels sing. 

(triplet) Lord in this thy mercy's day. 
4 — . 4 . 4 — . 4 Jesus lives ; no longer now 

Can thy terrors, death, appal us. 
4 . 4 - . 4 . 4 — Jesus calls us o'er the timiult 

Of our life's wild restless sea. 
4.4.4 (triplet) Day of wrath, day of mourning. 

Trochaic. Stanzas of more than four lines. 

3-.3-.4.4.3-.3- Jesus still lead on 

Till our rest be won. 
4 — .2 — .4-. 4-. 2- 0, they've reached the sunny shore 

Over there. 
4.4— .4. 4-. 2.4— Lo! He comes with clouds descending. 
4.4— .4.4 — .2.2.4- Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us. 
4. 4-. 4. 4-. 4-. 4- Who are these like stars appearing. 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 151 

4. 4-. 4. 4-. 4. 4 Once in royal David's city. . . 

4. 4-. 4. 4. 4- O the bitter shame and sorrow. 

4 — .4 — .4 — .4 — .4.4 Now the labourer's task is o'er. 

4 — .4. 4-. 4. 4 — .4— Gentle shepherd thou hast stilled. 

4. 4-. 4. 4. 4-. 4 — .4 — .4-. 4— Thou art coming my Saviour. 

Dactylic. 

2-.2 = .2-.2= Rest of the I weary A 

•Joy of the | sad A A 
2 . 2 — . 2 . 2 - (twice) Breast the wave | Christian | 
When it is | strongest A 

[The sixth line begins with anacrusis and ends with a trochee 
(dact. + 2 -) 

The) rest that re|maineth A ] 

2.2= (foui- times) Fierce was the | wild billow | 

Dark was the | night A A 
2 . 2 = . 2 . 2 = . 2 . 2 . 2 . 2= No not des|pairingly | 

Come I to I thee A A 
2. 2.2 = . 2. 2. 2. 2= Father of | heaven above | 

Dwelling in | light and love I 
Ancient of | days A A 
4-.4 = .4-.4= Brightest and | best of the | sons of the | morning A 
Dawn on our | darkness and | lend us thine | aid A A 
4 = .4 = .4 = .4= Raise the trisjagion | ever and | aye A A 

Anapaestic. 

2.2.2.2 (twice) a O, wor|ship the King | 

A All glor|ious above | 

[The two lines are often printed as one ; usually, the first 
foot is an iamb.] 

3.3.3.3 A We speak | of the realms | of the blest j 
[Iambic substitution common in first foot.] 

var. A One sweet |ly sol|emn thought | 
A A Comes | to me o'er | and o'er | 
I am near)er my home | today | 
Than I ev|er have been | before | . 

[Iambic substitution common in all the feet. First foot often 
represented by monosyllable.] 



152 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

4.3.4.3 A I think | when I read | that sweet 8to|ry of old | 

A When Jejsus was here | among men | 
var. A A Christ | is gone up [ with a joy|ful sound | 
He is gone | to his bright | abode j 

[Monosyllabic substitution common in first foot, iambic in 
first and last.] 

4.4.4.4 Thou | that dwell'st | in the heav|ens high | 
Above I you stars | and within | yon sky | 

[Iambic substitution common in all the feet.] 

4.3.4.3.4.4 There were ninejty and nine | that 8afe|ly lay | 
In the sheliter of | the fold | 

[Iambic substitution common in all the feet, and monosyllabic 
in first foot.] 

4+.4.4 + .4 
Thou art gone | to the grave | but we will | not deplore (thee 
Though sor|rows and dark|neas encom pass the tomb | 

[Iambic substitution in first foot.] 

Mixed. Iambic and trochaic. 

Alternate iamb. 3, troch. 3 - (thrice). 

We close | the wea|ry eye | 

Saviour | ever | near A 
We lift I our souls | on high | 

Through the | darkness | drear A 

Alt. troch. 4 — , iamb. 3 (four times, except iamb. 4 in sixth 
line). Printing two lines in one, we may describe this as troch. 
7-. 7-. 8-. 7-. 

God of ! my saljvation | hear a 

And help | me to | believe | 
Simply I do I I now draw | near A 

Thy bles|sing to | receive | 
Dust and | ashes | is my | name A 

My all I is sin | and mis|ery | 
Friend of | sinners | spotless | Lamb a 

Thy blood | was shed | for me | 

[This hymn is by C. Wesley, who has another in the same 
metre beginning 

Lamb of | God whose | bleeding | love A ] 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 153 

Troch. 6. 7-. 6, iamb. 5. 

Holy I holy | holy | all the | saints a|dore thee | 
Casting | down their | golden | crowns a|round the | glassy | sea A 
Cheru|biin and | seraphim | falling | down be | fore thee | 
Which wert | and art | and evjermore | shalt Ije | 

[In the third line ' seraphim ' is a dactyl for trochee. In the 
lines which follow we must disyllabize ' Lord ' and ' our ' to pre- 
serve the metre, unless we think that the solemnity of the 
subject justifies a monosyllabic foot in the former case. 

troch. 6 Holy | holy | holy | Lord | God Al|mighty | 

troch. 7 — Early ] in the | morning | oiir | song shall | rise to | thee A ] 

Troch. 4, iamb. 2, troch. 4, iamb. 2, troch. 4.4.4, iamb. 2. 

God that I madest | earth and | heaven | 

Darkness | and light | 
Who the I day for | toil hast | given | 

For rest | the night | 
May thine | angel | guards de|fend us j 
Slumber | sweet thy | mercy | send us | 
Holy I dreams and | hopes at|tend us ] 

This livellong night | 

Iambic SM with trochaic refrain 2.4—. 

From Ejgypt's bonjdage come | 

Where death | and darkjness reign | 
We seek | our new | our betlter home | 

Where we | our rest | shall gain | 
Hallejlujah | 

We are | on our | way to | God A 

Troch. 4 — . 4 — , iamb. 3, trochaic refrain 3.3.3.4—. 

Here we | suffer | grief and | pain a 
Here we | meet to | part ajgain A 

In heaven j we part | no more | 
O that I will be | joyful | 
Joyful I joyful | joyful | 
that I will be | joyful | 
When we | meet to | part no | more A 

[The ranting tune makes the refrain dactylic, turning 0, 
that will he, and joyful into trisyllables.] 



154 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

The long irregular hymn beginning " The strain upraise," 
consists of iambic lines varying from 3 . 3 + . 4 . 5 . 5 + to 7 feet, 
and closes with troch. 4—. A few lines are given as specimens. 

iamb. 5+ Here let \ the mounjtains thunjder forth | sono(rou8 
iamb. 7 This is | the strain | the eter'nal strain | the Lord | of all ] 

things loves | 
troch. 4- Now from | all men | be out! poured A 

Iambic with dactylic refrain. 

Iamb. 5 + . 5 . 5 + . 5, dact. 2 — . 2 = . 2 - , iamb. 3. 

Hark, hark | my soul | angel|ic songs | are swel(ling 
O'er earth's ! green fields | and o|cean's wave|beat shore | 
* ♦ * ♦ 

Angels of | Jesus a 

Angels of i light A A 
Singing to | welcome A 

The pil|grims of | the night ) 

I cannot help thinking that the metre of the last line must 
have been intended to be dactylic, and that ' the ' before ' night' 
either crept in by mistake, or that we should read o' th' night 
Its metrical index would then be dact. 4- 2 =. 

Iambic with anapaestic refrain. 

Iamb. 3+3 (four times). 

When his j salvaition bring(ing 
To Zi on Je|sus came | 

refrain, anap. 3. 

A Hosanlna to Je|sus they sang | 

Trochaic and dactylic. 

Dact. 2.2.3-. 2-. 2-, troch. 4 -. 

O most I merciful | 

O most I bountiful | 
God the I Father Al| mighty a 

By the Re';deemer's A 

Sweet inter Icession A 
Hear us | help us | when we | cry a 



THE NAMING AND CLASSIFICATION OF METRES. 155 

Trochaic and anapaestic. 

Troch. 4 . 4 - . 4 . 4 - . 4, anap. 3 + . 3 + . 3. 

Shall we | gather | at the | river | 

Where bright | angel | feet have | trod a 
« * « * 

« * « « 

Yes we'll | gather | at the | river | 
A The beau|tiful beau tiful riv(er 

Gather with | the saints | at the riv(er 
A That flows I by the throne | of God | 

A Riddle. 

It seems at first sight impossible to reduce to rule Oakley's 
translation of Adeste Fideles. What common scheme will suit 
the two following stanzas? 

O c6me, all ye faithful, 
J6yful and triumphant, 
O c6me ye, O c6me ye to Bethlehem; 
C6me and beh61d him 
B6rn the King of dngels: 

God of G6d, 
Lfght of Lfght, 
L6 he abh6rs not the Virgin's w6mb; 
Very G6d, 
Beg6tten not created. 

It looks as though there were no more regularity of rhythm 
in them than in the words of a chanted psalm, where the 
number and accent of the syllables bear no fixed relation to the 
musical notes; and certainly the translator in his desire to re- 
produce the literal sense, has been much more erratic in his 
metre than the original. In the Latin, the first line of the 
second verse, Deum de Deo, is only one syllable short of Adeste 
fideles, the first line of the first verse, and, in singing, the first 
syllable of Deum occupies the same time as the two first of 
adeste, while the English is three syllables short. We may ob- 
serve that even in the English, the accents correspond, and I 
think by comparing the different verses and picking out the more 
regular lines we may make out a common scheme, and explain 
the variations, thus 



156 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

dact. 2 - Sfng choirs of | dngels a 

troch. 3 Sfng in | ^xul|tdtioii | 

dact. 2-, iamb. 2 L6 he abjhdrs not | the Vfr|gin's w6mb | 

dact. 2- W6rd of the | FdtherA 

troch. 3 N6w in | fl(5sh apjpedring | 

refrain, iamb. 3 + . 3 + . 5 

come I let us | adore (him 
come I let us | adore (him 
come I let us | adore | him, Christ | the Lord | 

If this is the correct scheme, the first verse departs from it 
by anacrusis in the 1st and 3rd lines, and the second verse re- 
presents the two dactyls of the 1st and 4th lines by a trochee 
and monosyllable, and has anacrusis in the 5th line. Its 2nd 
line departs furthest both from the normal line and from the 
Latin lumen de lumine, as it has only two trochees (troch. 2 — ) 
where there ought to be three. The third verse also varies in 
its 3rd, 4th, and 5th lines. 

dact. 2, iamb. 2 Sing all ye | citizens | of heaven | above | 
dact. 2 = Glory to | God A A 

troch. 2 In the I highest I 



CHAPTER X. 

Blank Verse of Surrey and Marlowe. 

The earliest specimen of English blank verse, that is, of the 
unrhyming five-foot iambic, is found in the translation of the 
second and fourth books of the Aeneid by the Earl of Surrey, 
beheaded Jan, 1547, in the 30th year of his age. In the 
edition by Mr Bell it is said (p. 141), that 'the dexterity with 
which he manages his metre prevents it from falling with 
monotony on the ear,' 'he mixes the iambic and trochaic feet 
so skilfully, that his constancy to the measure escapes observa- 
tion in the pleasure derived from the music with which he fills 
it'; yet 'crudenesses of sundry kinds are by no means in- 
frequent'; 'the ear is sometimes wounded by such lines as 
these 

By the divine science of Minerva.' 

Mr Symonds on the other hand, as we have seen above (p. 53), 
joins him with Sackville, Greene and Peele as being very 
averse 'to any departure from iambic regularity.' We will 
endeavour to give a more exact account of the matter. The 
initial trochee is as common in Surrey as in Milton. It is 
often found in combination with a trochee in the third foot, as 

p. 152. He with I his hands | strave to | unloose | the knots | 

2001 2001 01 

156. Then the | Greeks' faith, | then their | deceit | appeared | 

20 2 2 20010 1 

158. Finding I himself I chanced | amid I his foes | 

20 0120 0102 



158 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Trochee in the second foot is not uncommon, and is sometimes 
preceded or followed by another trochee, as 

p. 148. Yea, and | either | Atride | would buy | i# dear I 

2 12001 101 

156. Wherewith | Panthus | scaped from | the Greekiish darts | 

01 20 2 101 

158. Holding | alway | the chief | street of | the town | 

1010 01 100 1 

160. Of the I virgin I from them | so res|cued | 

10 200 1 1201 

161. The gilt | spars and I the beams I then threw I they down I 

01 2002 12 01 

165. Which relpulsed from | the brass | where it | gave dint I 

102 01 1012 

173. Till we | came to | the hill | whereas | there stood | 

10 2 001 01 1 

The old I temple | dedi|cate to | Ceres | 

1 20 2010 20 

174. Holding | backward | the steps | where we | had come | 

10 20 01 1101 

175. Long to I furrow | large space | of stor|my seas | 

2020 1 1 0201 

186. And the | hope of | Iu|lus' seed | thine heir | 

10 20 01 01 01 

193. Blowing | now from | this quar|ter now | from that j 

20 20 2 102 02 

197. Shall I I wait? or | board | them with | my ]_)Ower | 

012 110 1 1 

[The rhythm is harsher if we take board as one syllable 
forming the first part of a trochee. The fifth foot would then 
be the trochee power.] 

Without I taste of | such cares ? | is there | no faith I 

01 20 01 10 21 

199. From the | bounds of | his kingidom far | exiled | 

10 2 0010101 

For examples of trochee in the fourth place compare 
p. 144. And where] of no | small part | fell to | my share | 

101 2 1 102 1 

145. In the | dark bulk | they closed | bodies | of men | 

10 2 2 1 2001 

147. What news | he brought | what hope | made him | to yield | 

1101 11 1001 

Into I his band | young and | near of | his blood | 

1001 2 2001 

148. This horse | was made, | the storms | roared in | the air | 

01 010 2 2001 

149. With blood | likewise | ye must | seek your | return I 

2 10 01 1 ooi' 

And that | that erst | each one | dread to | himself | 

01 01 10 2001 



Toward 


the tower | 


our hearts 


1 brent with 1 


desire 


1 


1 


1 


2 


1 



BLANK VERSE OF SURREY AND MARLOWE, 159 

156. 

158. Each pal|ace and | sacred | porch of | the gods | 

10010 2001 

And plenlty of | grisly | pictures | of death | 

100 20 20 1 

[Here perhaps the 2nd foot should be taken as an anapaest, 
grisly being pronounced with three syllables, as seemingly in 
p. 196, 

Erebus | the grijsly j and Cha|os huge | J 

100 201 10 1 

p. 159. We went | and gave | many | onsets | that night | 

1 1 10 10 11 

To hope I on aught | against | will of | the gods | 

1 01 01 2001 

162. From that | high seat | which we | razed and | threw down I 

0111 0120 12 

183. Whom our | mother | the earth, | tempted | by wrath | 

101001 2001 

196. Bent for | to die | calls the | gods to | record | 

2 001 20 2001 

And if I there were | any | god that | had care | 

010 1202 1 

202. And her | dying | she clepes | thus by | her name | 

01100 1 2001 

The black | swart gore | wiping | dry with | her clothes I 

01 1120200 I 

For trochee in fifth place compare 
p. 160. The fell | Ajax | and eijther Altrides | 

0120010010 

163. I saw I Pyrrhus | and | eijther Ajtrides | 

01 20 10010 

165. Escajped from | the slaughlter of | Pyrrhus | 

010 100 10 

Without I sound hung | vainly | in the | shield's boss I 

01 1 1 2000 2 2 

168. Nor bla|med Pa|ris yet | but the I gods' wrath I 

010101 10 2 1 

171. With sud|den noise | thundered | on the | left hand I 

0101 20 0021 

172. Worship | was done | to Ce|res the ) goddess I 

10 1 0100 10 

173. The old | temple | dedi|cate to | Ceres | 

01 20 2010 20 

175. Unto I the son I of Ve|nus the | goddess I 

10 01 0100 10 

181. Before | her go | with gladlsome Ilulus | 

01 01 1 0010 

184. That now | in Car|thage loiltereth | reckless | 

1 01 101 20 

187. And that | the feast|ful night | of Ciltheron | 

1 10 1 0010 

Doth call I her forth | with no|ise of | dancing | 

101 010010 



160 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

192. Nor cinlders of | his falther An|chises | 

100 010 010 

I with I the Greeks | within | the port | Aulide | 

10 1 010110 

So hard | to ovlertreatl | Whither | whirls he? | 

01 0101 20 2 

196. Stood netir | the aljtar, bare | of the | one foot | 

1 010 100 21 

199. What said 1 I ? but I where am | I ? what | phrensy | 

1101 1201 20 

201. With wailling great i and wolmen's shrill | yelling | 

10 1 010 1 20 

145. By the | divine | science | of Min|erva | 

00 01 20 0010 

The rhythm in some of these lines is so harsh, that we 
might be disposed to think Surrey's pronunciation must have 
differed from ours, but in almost every case it might be shown 
that he has elsewhere used the same word with the common 
accent. It would almost seem as if he were satisfied with the 
metre, so long as he got ten syllables into the line. I do not 
think he has any example of truncation, like Chaucer before 
him or Marlowe afterwards. He admits however trisyllabic 
feet, as 

p. 146. Or this | an enjgine is | to annoy \ our walls | 

150. The al|tor and sword \ quoth he | that I | have scaped | 

153. O na|tive land | Ilion \ and of | the gods | 

Four times | it stopt | in the en\trj of | our gates | 

157. As fu|ry ^\i\\ded me and \ whereas | / Iiad heard \ 

162. Like to | the adjcfer with ven\omou8 Aer|bes fed | 

163. There Hejcuba | I saw | with a hun\dive6. mo | 

167. To revenge \ my town | unto | such rujin wrought | 

168. Doth Creu\&a. live | and As,\canius | thy son | 
174. In the void \ porches | Phoenix | Ulys|ses eke | 

184. A wo|?n,a/i that wa«|dering in | our coasts | hath bought | 
199. Infer |nal fu|ries eke | , ye wreakjer* of wrong \ 

Surrey pays as little regard to Dr Guest's rules in regard to 
the pauses, as in regard to the accent and number of syllables. 
As often as not, he has no middle pause. Sometimes the end 
of the line separates closely connected words, as 

p. 174. The rich|es here | were set | , reft from | the brent | 
Temples | of Troy | . 



BLANK VERSE OF SURREY AND MARLOWE. 161 

He puts a stop after the ninth syllable, as 

p. 151. His tale | with us | did purjchase cred|it ; some | 
Trapt by | deceit | ; some, for|ced by | his tears | 

While his most common pause is after the fourth syllable, we 
sometimes find a pause after the first and second syllables, 
even though the latter is unaccented, and also after the third, 
occasionally with very harsh effect, as in 

p. 160. And, by | sound, our | discord|ing voice | they knew | 

161. The gilt | spars, and | the beams | then throw | they down | 

165. Without I sound, hung | vainly | in the | shield's boss | 

168. Anchi|ses, thy | father | fordone | with age | 

196. The fields | whist, beasts | and fowls | of di|vers hue | 

197. Shall T | wait ? or | board them | with my | power | 

198. Follow I thee, and | all blithe | obey | thy call | 

One of the least pleasant pauses is that in the middle of the 
third foot, when it is a trochee or spondee, as 

p. 203. Commandled I I reave ; and | thy spir|it unloose I 

1012 01001 

164. An old | laurel | tree, bow|ing therejunto | i 

Surrey sometimes uses the feminine ending, as in 

p. 196. Him she | requires | of jus|tice to | remem(ber 
196. And three | faces | of Dijana | the vir(gin 

He generally imitates Virgil's broken lines The only other 
unfinished line I have observed is the third below, 

p. 184. His fair | mother | behight | him not | to us | 

Such one | to be | , we there] fore twice | him saved | 
From Greek|ish arms | , but such | a one | 
As might, &c. 

where probably we should insert to be before such. 
Occasionally we meet with Alexandrines, as 

p. 196. Her cares | redoujble ; love | doth rise | and rage | again | 
200. But fall I before | his time | ungraved | , amid | the sands | 

Not to confine myself to specimens of eccentricity, I add the 
following passage as a favourable example of his ordinary metre. 

^ Compare, for examples of similar harshness, the lines from Marlowe at tlie 
end of this chapter, and those from Tennyson and Browning in the chapter on 
Modern Blank Verse (pp. 206 foil.). 

M. M. 11 



162 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

p. 201. Sweet spoils | , whiles God | and des|tinies | it would, | 
Receive | this sprite | , and rid | me of | these cares : | 
I lived I and ran | the course | fortune | did grant ; | 
And un|der earth | my great | ghost now | shall wend : | 
A goodjly town | I built | and saw | my walls ; | 
Happy I , alas | , too hap|py, if | these coasts | 
The Troy|an ships | had nev|er touch|ed aye. | 

Before going on to Marlowe, it may be worth while to give 
Gascoigne'a rule of metre contained in his Instmction concern- 
ing the making of verse in English, which was first published in 
1575. There he tells us (p. 36, Arber) that 'there are certain 
pauses or rests in a verse, which may be called Caesures, whereof 
I should be loth to stand long, since it is at the discretion of the 
writer, and they have been first devised, as should seem, by the 
musicians ; but yet thus much I will adventure to write that, 
in mine opinion, in a verse of eight syllables the pause will 
stand best in the midst, in a verse of ten it will be best placed 
at the end of the first four syllables.... In Rhithm Royall (which 
he afterwards explains to be a seven-line rhyming stanza, each 
line containing ten syllables) it is at the writer's discretion, and 
forceth not where the pause be until the end of the line.' He 
further says (p. 33) that 'nowadays in English rimes we use 
none other order but a foot of two syllables, whereof the first is 
depressed or made short, and the second elevate or made long,' 
whereas in former poets, such as Chaucer, there was much 
greater liberty in regard to the number of syllables. In 
observing the rule of alternating accented and unaccented 
syllables, we are to remember to keep 'the natural and usual 
sound of the word.' 

The rhythm of Marlowe (d. 1593) is very different from that 
of Surrey. It is much more regular in accentuation, but, if 
the text is correct, it occasionally admits of initial truncation, 
leaving only nine syllables in the line. I have noted the 
following instances: the pages are Dyce's ed. 1850. 

Vol. I. p. 48. Barjbarous | and blood (y Tam|burlaine | 
Treach|erous | and false | Therid|amas | 
49. Bloodly and | insaltiate Tam|burlaine | 
51. Long I live Tam|burlaine | and reign | in Ajsia 
145. Arm | dread sov|ereigu and | my noble lords | 



BLANK VERSE OF SURREY AND MARLOWE. 163 

164. Now I my boys | what think | you of | a wound | 
146. Traijtors vil|lains dam|ned Chrisltians | 

and almost in the same words in pp. 178, 203, 

Villain trai|tor dam|ned fugitive | 
Vil lains cowjards trai tors to | our state | 
189. Coniquer sack | and ut|terly | consume | 

198. Save | your honours, 'twere | but time | indeed ( 

199. Let I us not | be id|le then | my lord | 
63. Kings | of Fez | Morocjco and | Argier | 

83. Caploline | hast thou | surveyed | our powers | 
98. What I is beau|ty? saith | my suf|ferings then [ 
18. Duke I of Af Irica and | Albajnia | 

I am doubtful about the last, because Marlowe is so capricious 
in his pronunciation of proper names. If Africa was pro- 
nounced Africa or Affarica, the line would be regular. I hnd 
in three several passages Euphrates, viz.^ : 

p. 110. As vast I a deep | as Euph;rates | or Nile | 

157. That touch | the end | of fam|ous Euph|rates | '- 

212. Of Euph|rates | and Tig|ris swift|ly run | 

So in pp. 139, 71, we find Gibr3.1ter — 

We kept I the narjrow strait | of Gib|ralter | 
And thence j unto | the straits | of Gibjralter | 

In the latter passage some editions spell it Jubaltar. In 85 
we have Bajazeth long — 

And now | Bajalzeth hast | thou an|y stom|ach 

There are three other passages in which Affarica would set the 
rhythm right — 

p. 209. A cit|adel | that all [ Aflfa|rica | 
14. Create | him pro|rex of | Affalrica ( 
20. To safe | conduct | us through | Affalrica | 

It should be mentioned, however, that in the last two lines the 
8vo. of 1592 has a different reading, inserting in one all, in the 
other changing through into thorough. 

^ So in Greene's Friar Bacon, p. 214 (Dyce) — 

Circled { with Gi|hon and | first Eujphrates | 
Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, i. 2. 105 — 

Extendled A{sia | from Eujphrates | 

11—2 



164 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

The monosyllabic foot is more frequent in Tamburlaine than 
in Marlowe's other plays, but I think examples may be found 
in all. The following are taken from Edward II. — 
Vol. II. p. 177. No I but we'll | lift Gav|eston | from hence | 
(This would be regular if we read ' we will.') 

p. 219. Lan|caster | why talk'st | thou to | the slave | 
252. Mor|timer | who talks | of Mor|timer | 

(Here it would be easy to prefix an 'of.') 

p. 273. Wherejfore stay | we? On | sirs to | the coast | 
277. Morltimer | I did | he is | our king | 

(Here 'aye' might naturally precede.) 

In Faustus we find 

p. 8. Jer|ome's bi|ble, Fau8|tus ; view | it well | 
19. Now I Faustus | what wouldst | thou have | me do | 
36. FauS|tus thou | art damn'd | ; then swords | and knives | 

It is doubtful, however, how far we can trust our text of 
Marlowe, as the metre frequently halts in other feet besides 
the first, e.g. in Edward II. — 

p. 174. 'Tis true, the bishop is in the Tower. 
180. Lay hands on that traitor Mortimer. 

(where probably we should read upon). 

p. 188. Plead for him that will, I am resolved, 
(where we should probably insert he before that). 

p. 193. Diablo, what passions call you these ? 
(where perhaps we should read diavolo). 

p. 207. 'Twas in your wars; you should ransom him. 
(perhaps and should be inserted before you). 

p. 211. Pardon me s^eet; I forgot myself. 
(perhaps / had forgot or did, forget). 

p. 227. And Spenser spare them not, lay it on. 
(we might insert hut before lay). 

p. 255. Well that shall be, shall be: part we must, 
(probably that should be doubled). 

p. 257. Should drink his blood, mounts up to the air. 
(perhaps we should read into for to). 



BLANK VERSE OF SURREY AND MARLOWE. 165 

p. 269. Sister, Edward is my charge ; redeem him. 
(which would make better sense if we read thus, 

Sister, Edward's my charge ; let me redeem him.) 

p. 281. To murder you, my most gracious Lord, 
(where perhaps nay should be inserted before my). 

Sometimes a missing syllable may be accounted for by the 
presence of the letter r as in 

p. 172. Earl | of Corn | wall king | and lord | of Man | 
231. Earl | of Gloces|ter and | Lord Chamlberlain | 
287. Because | I think | scorn | to be | accused | 

(though it would be easy to insert so before accused). 

p. 168. Were svvojrn to | your un cle at | his death | 

Here the r precedes a consonant, but the same effect is pro- 
duced where it follows a long vowel, as in fijt-e, sure, assure, or 
a consonant, as in hundred, entrails, nostril, monstrous, e.g. 
As mons|trous | as Gorjgon prince | of hell | 

So we find in Edward II. Mowbray, Pembroke, gentry, frustrate, 
secret, thrust. The letter I sometimes has the same effect, as 

I. 47. Resolve | I hope | we are | resemlbled | II. 173, chaplain, 
251, deeply. 

We also have priest, hear, despair, and even Ediiard twice, pp. 
234, 269. 

Feminine rliythm is more frequent in Marlowe than in 
Surrey. We even find two superfluous syllables at the end of 
the line, unless we are to reckon as Alexandrines verses like 
the following from vol. ii. (Dyce, ed. 1850). 

p. 13. Faustus I these books | thy wit | and our | expe(rience 

12. Yet not | your words | only | but mine | own fan(tasy 

21. What, is | great Mephjistophlilis \ so pas(sionate 

28. And Fausjtus hath | bequeathed | his soul | to Lu(cifer 

Anapaests are common in any part of the line, e.g. 

p. 7. Bid econ\oiQ.y \ farewell | and Ga|len come | 

9. Are but | obeyed | in their sev\eral p'oi;|inces | 

28. Alreadjy Fausj^iw hath haz\arded that \ for me | 

32. Speak Fausitus, do | yov, deliver this | as your deed \ 

lb. Sweet Hel|en make | me immor\ta\ with | a kiss | 

289. And with | the rest | accoml^any him \ to his grave \ 



166 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

And we occasionally meet with dactyls, as 

p. 9. Shall be | at my | command | emperors \ and kings | 

13. Shadowing \ more beau|ty in | their air|y brows | 
233. Edward | with fire | and sword | follows at \ thy heels | 

Trochees are common in the first foot, and in the third and 
fourth after a stop. 

p. 245. Gallop | apace | bright Phoe|bus through | the sky | 

231. Let them | not un|reveng'd | murder I your friends I 

10 2 

Examples such as the following are much rarer in Marlowe 
than in Surrey : 

p. 199. I am 1 none of I these comlmon pedlants, I I 

10 10 

269. Brother | Edmund | strive not, | we are | his friends | 

lo 10 1 1 10 

255. And hags | howl for | my death | at Cha|ron's shore | 

2 

270. My lord I be not I pensive, I we are | your friends I 

10 2 

193. Repealed | : the news I is too I sweet to | be true I 

1 

36. Why should | I die | then or | basely | despair | 

2 

269. Hence will I I haste I to Killlingworth I castle I 

1 

51. Carojlus the | fifth at | whose pal;ace now | 

1000 10 101 

(The last line is not worse than several in Surrey, but I think 
it is impossible in Marlowe. I suspect that an epithet such as 
high has been lost before palace, making the 1st foot a dactyl.) 

As to the pauses, most lines have only the final pause. An 
internal pause is most commonly found after the fourth or sixth 
syllable, but it is also found after the second, as 

p. 261. Take it. What, are you mov'd ? pity you me ? 

and the third, as 

p. 261. Receive it? no, these innocent hands of mine 

239. Noble minds contemn 

Despa|ir. Will | your grace | with me | to Hain(ault ? 

270. Therefore, come ; dalliance dangereth our lives 
278. Art thou king 1 must I die at thy command ? 

The last two verses are rendered harsher by the accent falling 



BLANK VERSE OF SURREY AND MARLOWE. 167 

on the first syllable of the second foot. We also find the same 
effect in the third foot, as 

p. 198. A vel|vet-caped | cloak, faced | before | with serge | 
Or mak|ing low | legs to | a nob|leman | 
199. And being | like pins' | heads, blame | me for | the bus(iness 

But, making all allowance for occasional harshness, there can 
be no question of the great superiority of Marlowe to Surrey in 
point of rhythm. Such a passage as the following fully justifies 
Ben Jonson's praise of ' Marlowe's mighty line,' 

p. 257. The griefs of private men are soon allay'd ; 

But not of kings. The forest deer, being struck, 
Runs to an herb that closeth up the wounds : 
But when the imperial lion's flesh is gor'd, 
He rends and tears it with his wrathful paw, 
And, highly scorning that the lowly earth 
Should drink his blood, mounts up into the air. 



CHAPTER XL 

SHAKESPEARE'S BLANK VERSE. 
Macbeth. 

I PROCEED now to the examination of Shakespeare's rhythm 
as seen in the play of Macbeth'^, limiting myself to the two 
kinds of variation before mentioned, viz. that through the 
number of syllables and that through the number or position 
of accents. Variation in the number of syllables may be either 
by way of defect {A,), or of excess {B.). 

A. — A line which is defective may be plainly fragmentary, 
wanting either the beginning or the end (/.), or it may be a 
skeleton line wanting some of its internal syllables (//.). The 
latter I shall call specially 'defective,' the former 'fragmentary.' 

/. 1. — Of fragmentary lines, which are still rhythmical, the 
majority are brief sentences occurring in rapid dialogue. These 
frequently combine to make up regular lines, as 

Len. Good-morrow, noble sir. Mac. Good-morrow both 

But they are also irregularly combined, the metre being ob- 
scured by the division of parts, and in this way they give 
rise to Alexandrines which are otherwise rare in Shakespeare 
(a), and to what Dr Abbott has called ' amphibious sections ' — 
a more business-like name might be ' common sections ' — where 
an intermediate sentence does double work, supplying the close 

^ It was in lecturing on this play that my attention was first drawn to what 
appeared to me to be defects in the existing treatises on English metre. I have 
used it here to illustrate the different ways in which Shakespeare gives variety 
to the regular iambic line, not with any view of tracing the historical develop- 
ment of his own metre. 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 169 

of a preceding fragmentary line, and also the commencement of 
a following fragmentary line (6), e.g. 

IV. 3. 219. Macd. At one | fell swoop ( . Male. Dispute | it like | a man |. 

[Dispute I it like | a man | .] Macd. I shall | do so | . 

There are many examples in Macbeth both of the common 
section and of Alexandrines formed by the union of two frag- 
mentary lines. Examples of the latter will be given further on. 

/. 2. — Fragmentary lines are also found at the beginning, 
middle, and end of longer speeches. 

(a) Those at the beginning are frequently short introduc- 
tory phrases, as v. 5. 30, " Gracious my lord"; III. 2. 26, "Come on"; 
II. 3. 86, " What's the business" (which becomes rhythmical if we 
either read ' what is ' for ' what's ' or pronounce ' business ' as a 
trisyllable, of which Walker gives examples). Most commonly 
such a broken line is the second half of a preceding broken 
line ; as Lady Macbeth's " What beast was't then " follows on 
Macbeth's " Who dares do more is none." So iii. 4. 99, " What 
man dare I dare," seems to take up the fragmentary line 
which ends Macbeth's previous speech " which thou dost 
glare with," no notice being taken of Lady Macbeth's inter- 
mediate address to the guests. Sometimes it becomes metrical 
b}' treating a portion of a preceding regular line as a common 
section, e.g. 

II. 4. 33. Macd. To be | investjed. Ross. Where | is Dun|can's bo(d7] 
[Where's Dunjcan's bo|dy?] Macd. Car|ried to Colme(kill. 

III. 2. 12. L. Mac. Should be [ without ] regard | ; what's done | is done | . 
[What's done | is done.] Macd. We've scotched | the snake | not killed (it. 

V. 8. 23. And break | it to | our hope | ! I'll not | fight with (thee 
[I will I not fight I with thee.] Macd. Then yield | thee, cow(ard. 

V. 3. 34. Macb. Give me | my ar(mour. Sey. 'Tis | not needjed yet | . 
[It is I not need|ed yet] Macb. I'll put | it on | . 

It will be noticed that in three of these examples the common 
section is of greater rhythmical importance in one of the two 
lines, owing either to feminine rhythm or to contraction, Fll for 
/ will, 'tis for it is. Some may perhaps doubt the applicability 
of the principle in these cases, or even deny its use altogether ; 
but whoever will go through any play, noting every fragmentary 
line, as I have done in Macbeth, will, I think, be surprised to 



170 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

find the very small residuum of lines which remain unmetrical 
if treated on this method. Whether Shakespeare consciously 
intended it is another matter. I believe he simply wanted 
harmonious lines, and the common section contributed to this 
result without his thinking about it. 

(b) Speeches are often closed by a fragmentary line. This 
is sometimes a short final phrase, as i. 5. 74, " Leave all the rest 
to me"; i. 6. 31, "By your leave, hostess"; iv. 1. 156, "Come, 
bring me where they are "; ill. 3. 56, " So, prithee, go with me." 
It seems to be especially used in the absence of the rhyming 
couplet as the natural close of the scene or of an important 
speech, e.g. i. 4. 52, " It is a peerless kinsman " ; v. 4. 21, 
" Towards which advance the war " ; in. 4, 144, " We are yet 
but young in deed "; ii. 3. 95, "And say it is not so " ; ill. 2. 26, 
"Can touch him further"; v. 2. 31, 'Make we our march to- 
wards Biniam"; v. 7. 23, "And more I beg not." Sometimes 
there is a special impressiveuess in the words thus isolated, e.g. 

I. 4. 14, "An absolute trust"; v. 5. 28, "Signifying nothing"; 

II. 2. 63, " Making the green one red." Where the broken final 
line does not conclude the scene, it is usually taken up and 
completed by a broken initial line, e.g. 

I. 5. 55. To cry | hold, hold ! || Great Gla|mis, worjthy Caw|dor. 

or by a portion of a complete initial line used as a common 
section, as in. 4. 68, 

Lady Mac. You look | but on | a stool | . Mach. [Prithee | see there | ] 
Prithee | see there | Behold | look, lo | I pray (you. 

(c) Far less common are fragmentary lines in the middle 
of speeches, and those which occur may often be resolved into 
cases of either (a) or (6) ; what is printed as a single speech 
consisting really of several speeches uttered continuously by the 
same pei-son, e.g. i. 5. 62, Lady Macbeth ends one topic with the 
broken line " Shall sun that morrow see," and goes on, possibly 
after a pause, to appeal more directly to her husband, " Your 
face, my thane," which, it is to be observed, itself forms a 
common section. So i. 2. 41, "I cannot tell" ends the sergeant's 
description of the battle, and in the following line he asks for 
help for his own wounds, in. 4. 4, "And play the humble host" 



SHAKESPEARE'S BLANK VERSE. 17 1 

tna}' be the end of an address to one guest, Macbeth turning 
to another in the next line. ill. 4. 99, "What man dare I dare," 
is addressed to Lady Macbeth, and followed by "Approach thou 
like," etc. addressed to the Ghost, ii. 1, 41, "As this which 
now I draw" is followed by a pause for drawing the sword, and 
watching the imaginary dagger, ill. 2. 51, "Makes wing to 
the rooky wood" may suggest a pause for watching the coming 
on of night, while the following lines give the general reflection, 
" Good things of day," etc. 

Short phrases or titles are sometimes given in broken lines 
in the middle of speeches, e.g. in. 1. 40, "Farewell," and a few 
lines below we should read with Abbott 

Sirrah, 

A word with you : attend those men our pleasure ? 

So in III. 2. 15, it seems better to print 

But let 

The frame of things disjoint, both the worlds sufiFer, 

expressive of a pause before the imprecation, rather than as an 
Alexandrine. Similarly, in I. 2. 37, we should read (with the 
Cambridge edition, not the Clarendon) " so they " as frag- 
mentary, and not join it to either line. The pause gives more 
force to the following line "doubly redoubled strokes upon the 
foe." Some of the broken lines in Macbeth may be the result 
of corruption of the text, e.g. in. 2. 32, " Unsafe the while that 
we," which is also suspicious from the harsh construction ; and 
I. 2. 20, "Till he faced the slave." In other places wrong 
printing has given the appearance of broken lines, e.g. Ii. 3. 120 
(reading ' let us away ' for ' let's away ') 

Let us I away | our tears | are not | yet brewed | 
and IV. 3. 28, which should be read 

Without I leave takjing? I | pray you | let not | 

My jea|lousie9 | be your | dishojnours, but | 

Mine own | safeties | . You may | be rightjly just | . 

(For the double trochee in the last line see pp. 38 and 76.) 

//. — We go on to the consideration of lines which are not 

fragmentary, mere heads or tails, but defective in their internal 

structure. Such defectiveness is sometimes only apparent, 

(■ 



172 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

arising from difference of pronunciation (1), or it may be real, 
but supplied by a pause (2), or by a compensative lengthening 
of some long syllable (S). 

(1). — The most common case of what we pronounce as a 
monosyllable being treated as a disyllabic, is where the letter r 
occurs either following a long vowel (a), as in I. 2. 45, 

Who comes | here | ? The wor(thy thane | of Ross | 

unless (which I should prefer) we adopt Pope's reading and 
prefix a ' but ' to the beginning of the line. ' But ' is wanted, 
and who and here would then get their right emphasis. More- 
over, the phrase ' but who comes here ' is common in Shake- 
speare. Abbott quotes four examples of it in p. 414. 

I. 6. 6. Smells woo|ingly | here | : no jut|ty frieze | . 

II. 3. 128. What should | be spo]ken he|re, where | our fate | . 

I. 6. 30. And shall | couti nue ojiir grajces towards | him. 

II. 1. 20. I dreamt | last night | of the | three wejird sis(ters. 

IV. 3. 111. Died ev|ery day | she lived | Fare | thee well | . 

[so better than by dividing ' livjed ']. 

Also where r follows a consonant {b), as ent{e)rance I. 5. 40, 
renie7iib(e)rance iii. 2. 30, m,onst{e)rous iii. 6. 8, child{e)ren iv. 3. 
172 ; and even where it precedes a consonant, as in ill. 1. 102, 

Not in I the wor|(e)st rank j of raanjhood, say (it. 

Examples will be found in Walker's Versification, p. 32, and in 
Abbott. So Burns (quoted by Guest, vol. I. p. 57) has — 

Ye'U try | the wajrld soon | my lad | . 
On ev|ry blade | the pea]rls hung | . 

Other examples of words pronounced with more syllables than 
we should now give to them are sergeant i. 1. 3, cap(i)tains 
I. 1. 34, prayers ill. 6. 49. Mr Wagner, in his edition, goes too 
far when he tells us, on i. 2. 5, 

'Gainst my | captivjity. | Hail | brave friend | 

" brave zu sprechen wie bra-ave." And Dr Abbott is almost as 
daring in making ' hail ' a disyllabic {S. G. § 484). 

(2) and (3). — It will be best to consider together all the 
cases of really defective lines, as they are usually capable of 



SHAKESPEARE'S BLANK VERSE. 173 

being explained either on the principle of the pause or of the 
lengthened syllable. The former explanation is the one which 
commends itself the most to myself. In many cases indeed I 
should treat the defective line as consisting of a final and initial 
fragmentary line. Thus in i. 2. 5, "'gainst my captivity" is the 
end of the speech to the king ; " hail, brave friend " is the 
commencement of the speech to the sergeant ; and the pause 
between the two takes the place of the omitted syllable. In 
I. 4. 14, "an absolute trust" ends Duncan's address to Malcolm; 
"0 worthiest cousin" begins the address to Macbeth, the pause, 
occasioned by the entrance of the latter, occupying the place of 
two syllables. In i. 5. 41, "under my battlements" closes Lady 
Macbeth's reflections on the hoarse messenger, and then, after a 
pause, begins the invocation of the powers of evil, " come, you 
spirits." In ll. 3. 83, " the great doom's image. Malcolm ! 
Banquo !" we have a final fragmentary line followed by a pause 
and an extra-metrical exclamation. The pause will also suffi- 
ciently explain I. 4. 35, " In drops of sorrow. Sons, kinsmen, 
thanes"; ii. 1. 19, 'which else should free have wrought. Banq. 
All's well" (this line, which consists properly of two fragments, 
is reduced to regularity by Dr Abbott, who reads ' all is,' and 
disyllabizes 'wrought'); ii. 4. 29, "Thine own life's means! 
Then 'tis most like" (here too Dr Abbott obtains a regular line 
by reading 'it is ' and disyllabizing ' means ') ; i. 2. 7, " As thou 
didst leave it. Doubtful it stood" (but I should prefer here 
to read 'doubtfully'); IV. 3. 218, "did you say all? O hell-kite ! 
all?" (though, if it were desired, the cry expressed by the 
conventional symbol might fill the space of three syllables), 
and V. 7. 22, "seems bruited. Let me find him fortune," though 
I confess I should prefer to read with Steevens, 'let me but 
find him fortune,' not only as inore rhythmical, but as more 
expressive. In the famous line — 

I. 7. 28. And falls | on the o|ther. | How now | what news | ? 

the loss of a syllable is quite accounted for by the pause, but I 
should prefer to insert ' side.' It seems to me more probable 
that we have here a piece of carelessness on the part of the 
printer, of which there is such abundant evidence throughout, 



174 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

rather than that Shakespeare was guilty of what I should be 
disposed to call the affectation of expressing surprise by the 
cutting short of one little word. Other passages in which the 
pause is perhaps a less satisfactory expedient are the following: 
II. 1. 51, " The curtained sleep : witchcraft celebrates," where 
the pause after 'sleep' is scarcely sufficient to justify the 
omission of a syllable. Dr Abbott would make ' sleep ' a 
disyllable, supporting this by Richard III., v. 3. 130, which he 
divides thus — 

Doth cora|fort thee in | thy slefep : live | and floulrish. 

[The true scanning has been given in a former chapter.] 
In the line before us I should prefer to read ' sleeper ' as more 
suited to the definite article. In iv. 1. 122, "Horrible sight! 
Now I see 'tis true," there is a decided pause, but the rhythm is 
so harsh that I am inclined to think that an exclamation must 
have dropped out of the text. Such a cry would be very natural 
on catching sight of Banquo's ghost. Dr Abbott disyllabizes 
* sight.' In IV. o. 44, " Of goodly thousands : but, for all this," 
there is a pause both before and after 'but'; not enough, how- 
ever, to account for the rhythm. Dr Abbott disyllabizes 'but.' 
I should he rather disposed, if the line is correct, to give a 
disyllabic weight to 'all' with its long vowel and final liquid. 

B. — Where there is excess in the number of syllables, the 
extra syllables may be either outside the feet, producing what 
is called the feminine ending (/.), or they may be included in 
the feet (//.). 

/. — The first kind of superfluous syllable is frequently found 
at the end of the line, and its presence or absence has been used 
as a test for determining the genuineness or the age of the 
Shakespearian Plays, the prevalent taste in the end of Elizabeth's 
reign inclining more and more to a broken rhythm, just as we 
find in Euripides a growing tendency to the use of trisyllabic 
feet. Sometimes we find two such unaccented syllables, which 
generally admit of being slurred, as in ' conference.' Examples 
will be given further on under the head of apparent Alexandrines. 
As I am not now treating of specialities of rhythm, but merely 
illustrating the general manner of its variation, I shall say 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 175 

nothing more of this (a), but go on to the nirer use of the 
superfluous syllable at the close of the second or third foot (6). 
This is acknowledged by Dr Guest and Dr Abbott, but Mr Ellis 
would treat all such cases under the head of trisyllabic feet. I 
observe in the passage from M. Gaston Paris, printed in the 
Appendix, that two of the four types of the old French deca- 
syllabic metre are what he calls feminine at the hemistich. I 
make twenty-five lines in Macbeth with the superfluous syllable 
after the second foot, and thirty-two with it after the third 
foot. In almost all there is a full stop after the superfluous 
syllable, which makes it more difficult to join it with what 
follows, so as to form a trisyllabic foot. In several instances, 
however, it would be possible to get rid of the superfluous 
syllable on the principle of slurring, of which I shall shortly 
speak. Thus several end in r and **, which have a tendency 
to obscure the sound of a preceding vowel, e.g. 

I. 7. 26. Of his I own chamb'r | and used | their ve|ry ddg(gers. 

II. 3. 138. Of treajs'nous mal'ce | . And so | do I | . So all | . 

Superfluous after second foot: 

I. 3. 72. But how I of Caw|dor | / The thane | of Ciw] dor lives | 

I. 3. 150. With things | forgotjten | . Kind genjtlemeii | your pains | 

I. 4. 42. On all | deserv|ers | . From hence | to In|verness | 

II, 2. 53. Give me | the dagjgers | : the sleepjing and | the dead [ 

II. 3. 147. The nearjer blood|y | . This mur|d'rous shaft | that's shot | . 

III. 1. 35. Craving | us joint|ly | . Hie you | to horse | , adieu | . 

III. 1. 84. Say thus | did Ban|quo | . You made | it known | to us | . 
Your spirits | shine through | you | . Within | this hour | 

at most I . 
That shake | us nightjly | . Better | be with | the dead | . 
In rest|less ecs|t'sy | . Duncan | is in | his grave | . 
'Tis given | with wel|come | . To feed | were best | at home 1 . 
To those I that know | me | . Come love | and health | to 

all 1 . 

III. 4. 103. Shall nejver tremjble | : or be | alive | again | . 

v. 6. 4. Lead our | first bat|tle | . Worthy | Macduff | and we | . 

Sometimes we find the double feminine ending, both after the 
second and after the last foot, e.g. 

I. 3. 43. That man | may ques|tion | You seem | to un|derstand (me. 
I. 7. 10. To plague | the invenjtor | This ev|en-hand|ed just(ice. 

II. 2. 66. At the | south | en|try | : retire | we to | our cham(ber. 



III. 


1. 


128. 


III. 


2. 


19. 


III. 


2. 


22. 


III. 


4. 


36. 


III. 


4. 


87. 



V. 


3. 4. 


V. 


4. 3. 


V. 


2. 11. 


V. 


1. 65. 



176 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

[Though here we might divide | at the south | entry |, and 
there is a further explanation in the repeated re.] 

II. 3. 109. Upon I their piljlows 1 : they stared | and were | di8trac(ted. 
III. 1. 26. 'Twi.\t this | and sup|per ) . Go not | my horse | the bet(ter. 

III. 1. 80. In our | last con|ference | , pa.ssed in | proba|tion with (you? 
rv. 2. 17. The fits | of the sea|8ou | , I dare | not sjieak | much fur(ther. 
rv. 2. 35. Why should | I, mo|ther ] . Poor birds | they are | not set 

(for. 

IV. 3. 220. Convert | to an|ger | . Blunt not | the heart | enrage (it. 

Superfluous after third foot : 

V. 3. 7. Shall e'er | have i^ower | upon | thee | . Then fly | false 

thanes | . 
Was he | not bom | of wom|an | ? The sprites | that know | . 
What wood | is this | before | us | ? The wood | of Bir(nam. 
Protest I their first | of man|hood | . What does | the ty(rant? 
Do breed [ unnat|ural troub|les | . Infect|ed minds | . 
IV. 3. 223. That were | most pre|cious to | me | . Did heaven | look on | ? 
IV. 3. 156. The heal|ing ben |edict lion | . With this | strange vir(tue. 
IV. 3. 177. Each mi|nute teems | a new | one | . How does | my wife ] ? 
IV. 3. 117. To thy | good truth ] and honjour | . Devilish | Macbeth | . 
IV. 3. 33. For good|ness dare | not check | thee | . Wear thou | thy 

wrongs I . 
IV. 2. 77. Accountject dang|'rous foljly | : why then | alas | . 
IV. 2. 14. So runs | against | all rea|son | . My dearjest coz | . 
III. 6. 43. That clogs | me with | this ans|wer | . And that | well might |. 
in. 6. 44. Advise | him to | a caultion | , to hold j what dis(tance. 
III. 4. 110. With most | admired | disor|der | . Can such | things be | . 
III. 4. 112. Without I our spe|cial won|der | ? You make | me strange | . 
III. 4. 84. Your no|ble friends | do lack | you | . I do | forget | . 
ni. 4. 60. That might | appal | the de|vil | . pro|per stuflp | . 
III. 1. 126. For sun|dry weight|y rea|sons | . We shall | my lord | . 
III. 1. 107. Which in | his death | were per|fect j . I'm one | my liege | . 
III. 1. 57. Mark An|tony was | by Cae|sar | . He chid | the sis(ters. 
I. 3. 113. With hidjden help | and van|tage | , or that | with both | . 
I. 4. 56. It is I a banjquet to | me | . Let's af|ter him | . 
I. 6. 3. Unto I our gen|tle sensies | . This guest | of sum(mer. 
II. 1. 26. It shall I make honjoiu* for | you | . So I | lose none | . 
n. 2. 52. Look on't | again | I dare | not | . Infirm | of pur(pose. 
II. 2. 54. That fears | a pain|ted dev|il | . If he | do bleed | . 
II. 2. 74. Wake Dun|can with | thy knockjing | . I would | thou 

couldst I . 
III. 6. 2. Which can | inter |pret fur|ther | . Only | I say | . 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 177 

II. 2. 23. That they | did wake | each o|ther | , I stood | and heard 

(them. 
V. 8. 6. With blood | of thine ] alrea|dy | . I have | no words | . 
V. 8. 27. Here may | you see | the ty|rant | . I will | not yield | . 

//. — Extra syllables within the feet may either disappear 
through elision (a) or slurring (6), or they may be distinctly 
perceptible and form trisyllabic feet (c), or finally they may 
form an extra foot, giving rise to an Alexandrine (d). 

(a) As regards the mark of elision, there seems to have 
been no principle in the First Folio, and not much in later 
editions. I have by me a complete collation of the elisions 
in the Folio and in the Clarendon edition, and in several 
cases syllables essential to the metre are cut out, e.g. ' let's 
away' in 

II. 3. 129. Let us | away | our tears | are not | yet brewed | . 

In others, syllables are unelided, the absence of which would 
certainly improve the rhythm, e.g. I should prefer 'gan and 
'would, to began and / would in the following 

I. 2. 53. The thane | of Cawjdor 'gan | a disimal con(flict. 

II. 2. 73. Wake Dun|can with | thy knock|ing. 'Would | thou couldst | . 

So I should prefer thou'rt and I'm to thou art and I am in 

I. 4. 16. Was heav|y on | me. Thou'rt \ so far | before | . 

III. 1. 168. Which in | his death | were per|fect | . I'm one | my liege | . 

Perhaps the sign of elision should only be used where there 
is a complete disappearance of the syllable. There are three 
degrees of evanescence, (1) where the syllable is distinctly pro- 
nounced, but is metrically superfluous (as in a trisyllabic foot), 
(2) where it is slurred, blending more or less with a preceding 
or succeeding sound, (3) where it is entirely inaudible. It will 
depend very much on the taste of the individual reader what 
view he will take of any particular syllable, and I doubt whether 
it is possible to arrive at any certainty with regard to the usage 
in Shakespeare's time. Perhaps as the is constantly printed as 
th in the Elizabethan writers, even in prose and before con- 
sonants, we may assume that, in colloquial use, the e was 
entirely lost before vowels, where we should make a glide or 
slur it. 

M. M. 12 



178 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

The commonest elisions in the First Folio are 'd for ed in 
the preterite and past participle, even where the present ends 
with e, as ' fac'd,' ' carv'd ' : tli for the, as ' to th' chops,' ' o' th' 
milk,' • th' utterance.' Not unfrequently this elision is wrongly 
given where the syllable is required for the metre : e.g. III. 
4. 101, 

The armed | rhino|ceros or | the Hyr|can ti(ger. 

is better than ' th' Hyrcan' of the Folio. And there can be no 
doubt that ' th' expedition ' and ' th' Tiger ' are wrong in 

II. 3. 92. The ex|pedi|tion of | my vi|olent love | . 
I. 3. 7. Her husjband's to | Alepjpo gone | master o' | the Ti(ger. 

Equally common with these is the elision of 's for is. ' When 
the battle's lost and won.' 

's also stands for us, ' betray 's' in i. 8. 125 (unnecessarily, 
though the Clarendon adopts it). 

Win us I with honiest trifi|es to \ betray (us. 

So in 'let's' (several times), \upon's' (unnecessarily, though 
adopted by Clarendon) in 

III. 1. 36. Ay, my | good lord | : our time | does call | upon (us. 

And V. 6. 5. 

's for his. II. 2. 22, 'in's sleep.' ii. 3. 99, 'make's love 
known.' 

Another very common elision is st for est, e.g. cam'st, antici- 
pat'st, got'st, kind'st, stern'st, near'st, secret'st, dear'st. 
'II for will. I'll (always He in the Folio), we'll, you'll. 
'Id for would ; thouldst, weld, I'ld, you'ld. 
'It for luilt, thou'lt. 

'dst for hadst, ' thou'dst rather hear it.' 
'rt for art, ' thou'rt mad.' 
't for it, prefixed, 'twas, 'twelve, 'tis, 'twould. 

suffixed, is't, was't, were't, inay't, please't, done't, het, 

heart, goes't, take't, pull't, denyt, on't, int, 

fort, to't, hefore't, under't, if't, an't. This is 

adopted by Clarendon. 

t' for to, t'hold III. 6. 44, t' appease iv. 3. 18. Not adopted 

by Clarendon. 



\ 

Shakespeare's blank verse. 179 

der for over, derleap, o'erbear, derfraught. 

ne'er, for never. 

d for of, d th', d that, adopted by Clarendon. 

I for in, i' faith once, i th' many times, adopted by Clarendon. 

'em for them several times, adopted by Clarendon. 

Surd vowel omitted in murth'ring I. 5. 47, temp'rate li. 3. 90, 
mock'ry ill. 4. 106, vap'rous lii. 5. 24, med'cine iv. 3. 210, and 
V. 2, whisp' rings v. 1, not adopted by Clarendon ; of course, if 
employed at all, it ought to be used in very many more 
instances. 

Loss of initial short syllable : 'gainst for against, 'hove for 
above, 'twixt for betwixt, 'gin for begin, adopted by Clarendon, 
which also reads 'scape, 'cause, for escape, because, where the 
Folio gave the abbreviation without mark of elision. 

The Clarendon edition also gives the apostrophe after 
highness', used for the genitive, where there is none in the 
Folio. 

Two special words, god'ild, sev'night, complete the list of 
elisions contained in the Folio. 

It has already been seen that some of these are incorrect. 
The other errors which I have noticed are as follows : i. 3. 18, 
" I'll drain him dry as hay," corrected in C. 

II. 3. 102 Fol. and C. 

What is I amiss | ? You are j and do | not know 't | . 
the elision of it is quite unnecessary. 

III. 1. 102. Not in I the wor|st rank | of man|hood say (it. 
F. and C. read i', say't, and F. gives th'. 

III. 4. 89. I drink | to the gen|eral joy | of the | whole ta(ble. 
F. gives th' for the and d for of; C. only the latter. 

IV. 3. 180. Be not | a nig|gard of | your speech | : how goes (it ? 
F. and C. unnecessarily elide it. 

I will lastly give a list of passages in which a necessary 
elision is unmarked. 

It is singular that with the exception of thou'dst for thou 
hadst, F. never contracts have. Otherwise I've, weve, they've, 

12—2 



180 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

rd, he's, would be naturally written in the following lines, 
among others, where F. and C. both give the words at full 
length : 

I. 4. 20. Might have \ been mine | : only | I've left | to say | . 

I. 4. 18. To 0|vertake | thee : would | thou'dst less | deserved | . 

V. 2. 73. We've wiljling dames | enough | , there can|not be | . 

II. 1. 21. To you I they've showed | some truth | . I think | not of 

(them. 
II. 2. 6. Do mock | their charge | with snores | . I've drugged | their 

pos(sets 
III. 4. 20. Then comes | my fit | again | I'd else | been per(fect. 

So in the following lines we should read, instead of / am, thou 
art, we would, etc. 

III. 1. 108. Which in | his death | were perjfect | . I'm one | my liege | . 
I. 3. 133. Commencjing in | a truth | . I'm thane | of Caw(dor. 

I. 4. 16. Was hea|vy on | me, thou'rt | so far | before j . 

II. 1. 23. We'ld spend i it in | some words | upon | that bus(iness. 

II. 4. 17. Contend|ing 'gainst | obe|dience as | they'ld make | . 

I. 5. 21. The ill|ness should ] attend [ it, what | thou'ldst high(ly. 

So ' to his home,' ' what is,' ' Macduff is,' are better contracted in 

I. 6. 24. To's home | before | us. Fair | and no|ble ho8(tess. 
II. 3. 77. Is left I this vault | to brag | of. What's | amiss | . 
III. 6. 29. Takes from | his high | respect | . Thither Mac|duff s gone | . 

(6) Dr Abbott makes great use of the principle of slurring, 
and is proportionately chary of admitting trisyllabic feet. As a 
rule I prefer the latter explanation, while allowing the possi- 
bility of the former explanation in the cases which follow. The 
commonest case is where the roll of an r obscures a neighbour- 
ing vowel. Thus we may slur the following vowel in 

in. 4. 107. The ba|by of | a girl | hence horir'ble shad(ow. 
V. 3. 44. Cleanse the | stuflfed bo|som of | that per'|lous stuflf | 

and so with ceremony, warranted, nourisher, tyranny, verity. 

Similarly we may slur the preceding vowel in 

V. 1. 78. Foul whispl'rings are | abroad | unnat|'ral deeds. 

and in corp'ral, discovry, temp'rance, per sev ranee, gen'ral, 
momemt'ry, confrence, ev'ry, murd'rous, and perhaps power, 
chamber, supper, disorder, Caesar, wonder, answer. The spell- 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 181 

ings sprite for spirit, and parlous for perilous seem to shew that 
in certain cases at any rate the vowel was lost. 

We also find the short vowel slurred with other liquids, as 
in devil, devilish, heaven, perhaps villain in 

V. 3. 13. There is | ten thou|sand — geese | , viU'n — soljdiers Sir [ . 

and with s, as minster, majsty, ecst'st/. Compare ill. 4. 2 : 

And last | the hearity weljcome. Thanks | to your maj('sty. 

[Also I. 6. 18, II. 3. 75, iii. 4. 121.] 

III. 2. 22. In rest|less ecst|'sy | . Duncan | is in | his grave | . 
I. 5. 49. And take | my milk | for gall | you murdering min('stera. 

In V. 3. 5, 

All mor|tal cons|equences have | pronounced | me thus \ 

there seems a double slurring due to the sibilant. In this 
and other cases the alternative lies not between slurring and 
trisyllabic feet, but between slurring and the Alexandrine, 
which to my ear would have a weak dragging effect in such 
a passage. Dr Abbott gives several examples (§ 471) of the 
dropping of the final s in the plural of words ending with a 
sibilant. 

Possibly we ought to admit slurring of vowels after other con- 
sonants, as surf ted, fantastical. One vowel preceding another 
is sometimes slurred, as furious, unusual. Sometimes more 
than one letter seems to be omitted in pronunciation, as 
instruments is disyllabic according to Abbott, § 468. See 
examples in note\ 

^ Perhaps it will be best to give the complete list of such doubtful lines for 
the reader to form his own judgment upon them. 

I. 7. 80. Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. 
in. 2. 19. In the affliction of these terrible dreams. 
HI. 4. 78. Too terrible for the ear: the time has been, 
in. 4. 36. From thence, the sauce to meat is ceremony. 

IV. 3. 138. Be like our warranted quarrel. Why're you silent ? 

II. 2. 40. Chief nourisher in life's feast. What do you mean ? 
V. 4. 6. The numbers of our host, and make discovery. 

IV. 3. 67. In nature is a tyranny: it hath been. 
IV. 3. 92. As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, 
Bounty, persev'rance. 



182 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

(c) It is difficult to find examples of undoubted trisyllabic 
feet; what would at first sight be taken for such being so 
often capable of other explanation, either on the principle of 

m. 4. 89. I drink to the general joy o' the whole table, 

ni. 4. 55. The fit is momentary ; upon a thought. 

III. 1. 79. In our last conference; passed in probation with you. 

IV. 3. 59. Sudden, voluptuous, smacking of every sin. 

II. 3. 123. The near|er bloodjy | . This mur|derous shaft | that's shot | . 
I. 7. 76. Of his own chamber, and used their very daggers. 
III. 1. 87. Your patience so predominant in your nature, 
in. 1. 105. Whose execution takes your enemy off. 
III. 2. 31. Present him eminence both with eye and tongue. 
lu. 6. 40. He did, and with an absolute • Sir, not I.' 
[cf. I. 4. 14. An abjsolute trust | . . | O worth|iest cou|8in.] 

III. 1. 117. To thy I good truth | and hon|our | . Devilish | Macbeth | . 
v. 7. 8. The devil himself could not pronounce a title. 

[cf. III. 4. 60, 11. 2. 54.] 

IV. 3. 182. Which I have heavily borne, there ran a rumour. 

IV. 3. 57. In evils to top Macbeth, I grant him bloody, 
v. 3. 40. Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased. 

[cf. V. 3. 46, I. 5. 49.] 

III. 4, 86. I have a strange infirmity which is nothing. 
ni. 2. 45. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck. 

[cf. I. 5. 63, II. 2. 36.] 

IV. 3. 64. All continent impediments would o'erbear. 

V. 4. 19. Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate. 

IV, 2. 17. The fits | o' the sea|son | , I dare | not speak | much fur(ther. 
rv. 1. 152. His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls. 
III. 4. 36. 'Tis given | with wel|come | : to feed | were best | at home | . 
III. 1. 68. Given to the common enemy of man. 
[here given may be a trochee, making the next foot an anapaest.] 

IV. 3. 223. That were | most pre cious to | me | . Did heaven | look on | . 
II. 2. 62. The multitudinous seas incarnadine. 

III. 1. 57. Mark Anjtony's was | by Cae sar { . He chid | the si8(ter8. 

V. 4. 8. We learn no other but the confident tyrant. 

V. 2. 5. Excite the mortified man. Near Birnam wood. 
III. 2. 47. Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day. 
II. 2. 5. The doors are open and the surfeited grooms. 
I. 3. 140. My thought | whose murder yet ] is but | fantas(tical. 
II. 4. 14. And Duncan's horses, a thing most strange and certain. 
[horses probably one syllable, as Abbott, § 471.] 

in. 2. 48. And with thy bloody and invisible hand. 
V. 8. 41. The which no sooner had his prowess confirmed. 
II. 3. 114. Who can | be wise | , amazed | , temperate | , and fur(ious. 
II. 1. 12. He hath | beeu in | unujsual plea|8ure and | . 



SHAKESPEARE'S BLANK VERSE, 183 

feminine rhythm or of slurring. The following seem to me the 
most probable : 

I. 7. 22, Striding | the blast | or heav|en's che|riibimi horsed | . 
II, 3, 121, Unman Inerly breeched | with gore, | who could | refrain \ . 
I, 5, 17, What thou | art projmised. Yet | do I fear | thy na|ture. 
I, 2. 45. What a haste | looks through | his eyes | ! So should | he 
look I , 

(d) Alexandrines are most commonly found in lines divided 
between different speakers after the 3rd foot, e.g. 

III. 1. 139. I'll come | to you | anon | — We are | resolved | my lord | . 
I. 2. 58. The vict|ory fell | on us | — Great haplpiness | — That now | . 
II. 1. 3. And she j goes down | at twelve | — I tak't, | 'tis la|ter Sir | , 

III, 3, 11, Alread|y are in | the court | ^His hor|ses go | about | . 

IV, 2, 30, I take | my leave | at once | — Sirrah | your fa|ther's dead | . 
III. 4. 121. Attend | his maj|esty | — A kind | good-night | to all | . 

[though this may be read as an ordinary line by disyllabizing 
' majesty,'] 

The following have the feminine rhythm at the end, 

I, 6. 10. The air | is del[icate | — See, see | our hon|oured hos(tess. 
II. 3. 79. The sleepjers of | the house | — Speak, speak | — genjtle 

la(dy. 
V. 5. 17, The queen | my lord | is dead | — She should j have died | 

hereaf(ter, 

II, 1. 17. In mea|sureless | content | . Being unjprepared | . 
II. 3. 62. And pro|phesying | with ac|cents ter|rible ] . 
V. 5. 28. Signifying nojthing | . Thou comest | to use | thy tongue | . 
II. 3. 121. Unmannerly breeched with gore ; who could refrain. 
I. 4. 45. I'll be myself the harbinger and make joyful. 
[Abbott (§ 468) considers messenger and passenger to be disyllabic, and so 
perhaps harbinger here.] 

I. 3. 129. Of the imperial theme. I thank you, gentlemen. 
[See Abbott (§ 461) for the pronunciation of gentlemen.'] 

IV. 3. 239. Put on their instruments. Receive what cheer you may. 
III. 1. 81, How you were borne in hand, how crossed, the instruments, 
[We escape an Alexandrine by making instruments disyllabic. See Abbott, 
§ 468,] 

I, 3, 111, Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined, 
v. 7, 18. Are hired to bear their staves: either thou Macbeth. 
III. 6. 29. Takes from his high respect : thither Macduff's gone. 
[On the shortening of wJiether, either, thither, in pronunciation, see Abbott, 
§ 466.] 

1 That u of ' cherubim ' is always short in Shakespeare. 



184 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

IV. 1. 89. And top | of 80v'|reignty | — Listen | but si^eak | not to (it. 
III. 6. 49. Under | a hand | accursed | — I'll send | my i)ray|ers with (him. 

[As the emphasis is on with rather than him, it seems best to 
divide it thus.] 

III. 4. 73. Shall be | the maws | of kites | — What quite | unmanned | in 
fol|ly. 

In the following instances the division is after the 1st, 2nd or 
4th foot, or in the middle of the 4th. 

III. 2. 4. For a | few words [ — Madam | I will | — Nought's had | all's 

sjient I . 
III. 3. 15. Stand to't | — It will | be rain | to-night | — Let it | come down | . 
III. 6. 39. Prepare | for some | attempt | of war \ — Sent he | to Mac(duflf. 

V. 3. 37. How does | your pajtient, doc|tor? — Not | so sick | my lord (. 

III. 4. 38. Meeting | were bare | without | it — Sweet | remem |brancer | . 

IV. 2. 72. I dare | abide | no lon|ger — Whi( ther should j I fly. 

V. 7. 11. I'll prove | the lie | thou speak|est — Thou | wast born | of 
wom(an. 

[If we read speak'st as in the Clarendon, we should have to 
compress thou'st, making a regular line.] 

III. 4. 2. And last \ the hear|ty wel|come — Thanks | to your majjesty | . 

[Or the line may be divided into five feet if we slur the last part 
of majesty ; it will then have a double feminine ending.] 

The following Alexandrines have an extra syllable at the 
hemistich : 

II. 2. 30. When they | did say | God bless | us | — Consid er it not | so 
deep(ly. 

II. 3. 58. For 'tis | my lim|ited ser|vice | — Goes the | king hence | to- 
day i . 

v. 3. 8. Like syl|lable | of dol|our | —What I | believe | I'll wail | . 
I. 3. 85. That takes | the reasjon pris|oner | — Your chilldren shall | 
be kings | . 

Where the lines are not thus divided between two speakers, 
it is often possible to explain away apparent Alexandrines, 
either as containing trisyllabic feet, or by hypermetric syllables 
at the end or before the caesura, or, if we follow Dr Abbott, 
on the principle of slurring, as — 

III. 1. 80. In our | last con|f'rence | ; passed in | probat|ion with (you. 
I. 3. 140. My thought | whose mur|der yet | is but | fantast(ical. 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 185 

I. 3. 129. Of the | imper|ial theme | , I thank | you gen(tlemen. 

III. 1. 81. How you I were borne | in hand | , how crossed, | the inst(ru- 

ments. 

IV. 3. 239. Put on j their inst'jments | . Keceiv^e | what cheer 1 you may | . 

III. 2. 22. In restjless ec|st'sy. | Dimcan | is in | his grave | . 

I. 3. 111. Which he | deserves | to lose | whether he | was combined | . 

IV. 3. 97. Acting | it ma|ny ways | . Nay 'd | I power | I should | . 

Sometimes the Alexandrine is due to wrong arrangement of 
lines. I have already mentioned that it seems better to treat 
the first two words of the following as a broken line ; 

III. 2. 15. But let I the frame | of things | disjoint | both the ] worlds 
trem(ble. 

The only remaining Alexandrines in Macbeth are, I believe, 
the following, some of which seem to me corrupt : 

I. 4, 26. Which do | but what | they should | by dojing ev|erything | . 

This line which is followed by the obscure * safe toward your 
love and honour,' is so feeble in rhythm that it can hardly 
be genuine. Is it possible to contract * every ' into a mono- 
syllable ? 

IV. 3. 20. In an | imper|ial charge | . But I | shall crave | your 
par(don. 

Here there is a decided pause, and I should take the line 
as made up of two fragments, and therefore to be classed 
with what Dr Abbott calls the trimeter couplet, of which we 
spoke before. 

III. 2. 11. With them | they think | on ? Things | without j all remjedy | . 

Should be without regard, what's done is done. 

In the former line, I think all is an interpolation ; it injures the 
antithesis ' without remedy ' — ' without regard,' and gives a 
feeble dragging rhythm. In the same way, in i. 2. 66, 

Our bo|som inte|rest. Go | pronounce | his prelsent death | , 
And with | his for|mer ti|tle greet | Macbeth | 

' present' seems to me interpolated, like 'all,' with the view of 
giving more force. _ 

IV. 1. 153. That trace | him in j his line | . No boast|ing like | a fool. 

This deed | I'll do | before | this pur | pose cool. 



186 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Here too I should wish to reduce the former line to the same 
length as that with which it rhymes, by omitting ' him in.' 

I. 3. 102. Only | to her|ald thee | into | his sight | , not pay (thee. 

Here I should prefer to read ' to ' for ' into.' 

It remains for me now to say a word or two on the variation 
produced by means of accentuation. This may arise either 
from defect of accent (the pyrrhic), from excess of accent (the 
spondee), or from inversion of accent (the trochee). They are 
all extremely common, and it will not be worth while to do 
more than give an example of each, 

ir. 2. 1. What hath I quenched them ] hath given | me fire | 
11 11 

hark ! peace | . 
1 1 

Spondee in second, fourth, and fifth. 

Thy let|ters have | transpor|ted me | beyond | . 



Pyrrhic in second and fourth. 

With regard to trochees, I have only looked for such as 
would be excluded by Dr Abbott's rule, that the trochee is 
inadmissible except in the first foot or after a stop. Of these 
I have found about twenty-five. 
Trochee in second place : 

I. 4. 52. The eye | wink at | the hand | yet let | that be | . 

2 

Trochee in third place : 

II. 4. 7. And yet I dark night | strangles | the trav|elling lamp | . 

11 2 

Trochee in fourth place : 

III. 6. 41. The clou|dy mesjsenger | turns me | his back | . 

2 

It is rare to find a trochee in the last place. I have only 
two examples. 

IV. 2. 4. Our fears | do make I us trailtors. You I know not 

2 1 

and 

V. 5. 3 But know I not how I to do I it. Well I say, Sir I . 

2. ' ' ' 10 



SHAKESPEARE'S BLANK VERSE. 187 

Mr Ellis kindly allows me to reprint from the Proceedings 
of the Philological Society his remarks on the preceding analysis 
of Shakespeare's metre as exhibited in Macbeth. 

"Lines which cannot be naturally divided into measures 
readily acknowledged by the ear when read, need not be noticed. 
No poet, I believe, ever writes such lines. When we find them 
in Shakspeare, we are bound to assume that we have not the 
whole or the correct version of the poet's words before us. 
Such lines may be exercises for ingenuity in correction ; but 
they are at any rate not suited to become a basis for a 
metrical theory. This observation at once disposes of some 
of Dr Abbott's certainly original, but as I cannot help thinking, 
impossible scansions. 

" If we were determining Shakspeare's own rhythmical habit 
as opposed to that of other writers, — a research now carefully 
pursued by many members of the New Shakspeare Society, — 
then we should have at once to reject from consideration all 
lines about which critics are yet doubtful as to whether they 
are Shakspeare's or not. It is evident that no theory should be 
founded except on undoubted instances. But we are not dealing 
with this investigation. Any line not rejected as defective or 
erroneous, or doubtful, or as simply a modern or possible 
emendation, is sufficient for our present purpose, whether 
Shakspeare wrote it or not. 

" In considering the rhythm of any single line, we should also, 
as I have already said, remember that it is part of a passage, 
and that the poet rhythmises whole passages, not single lines — 
except at a very early stage of his art. This is more particularly 
the case in dramatic poetry, where the author will even change 
the metre, by reducing or extending the number of his measures, 
to produce an emotional effect. And this leads to the difficult 
question how far the dramatic poet intended his actors to give 
oral effect to his rhythms, how far he intended them to dis- 
tinguish his verse from measured prose, and how far he himself 
felt the transition from verse to prose. It would take too much 
time to consider this, and I therefore content myself with indi- 
cating the point. In the mean time I shall assume, as the 
basis of a rhythmical inquiry, that a poet always means to be 



188 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

rhythmical, whether he writes prose or verse ; but, as Dionysius 
and Cicero well put it, verse is in rhythm, and prose is merely 
rhythmical, that is, verse follows a conscious and mainly enunci- 
able law in the juxtaposition of syllables of difterent kinds (long 
and short in Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Persian ; strong and 
weak in Modern Greek, Italian, Spanish, German, English), and 
prose follows a subjective and mainly non-enunciable feeling. 

" Now I will endeavour to notice the principal points in 
Professor Mayor's notes on Macbeth in his own order. 

^'A. I. — Lines in defect, that is, having fewer than the 
normal five measures, are not necessarily defective. These may 
be called 'short lines,' and are common enough in conclusions 
and in parts of dialogue, but they also occur in the body of 
a speech, as in the following examples, where I mark the odd 
and even measures as I previously proposed. 

I. 2. 20. Till he faced | the slave]. 

I. 2. 51. And fan I our peojple cold | . 

I. 5. 60. Shall sun | that morjrow see | . 

II. 1. 41. As this I which now] I draw j . 

III. 2. 32. Unsafe | the while] that we | . 

III. 2. 51. Makes wing | to the rook]y wood | . 

IV. 3. 217. Did you | say all?] hell|kite ! all?]. 

" So many speeches end and begin with such short-measured 
lines, that when there is an ' amphibious section,' as Dr Abbott 
strangely calls it, the break of the sense must determine to 
which one of the two short lines, that it is able to complete 
into a full line, the poet meant it to be joined. To assume 
that it was intended to be part of both, seems almost ludicrous. 
Using this test I should divide 

IV. 3. 219. At one | fell swoop]. [short] 

Dispute I it like] a man. | — I shall] do so | . 
V. 3. 18. The En|glish force] so please | you. [short] 

Take thy | face hence] Seyton ! [ I'm sick] at heart | . 
11. 4. 33. To be | investjed. [short] 

Where is Dun|can's bod]y ? Carlried to] Colmekill | . 
III. 2. 12. Should be | without] regard, | what's done] is done | . 

We've scotched | the snake] not kill'd | it. [short] 

V. 3. 34. Give me | my ar]mour. 'Tis | not need]ed yet | . 

I'll put I it on.] [short] 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 189 

V. 8. 23. And break | it to] our hope | . [short] 

I will I not fight] with thee ! | — Then yield] thee cow(ard. 

" Observe that in ' I will not fight with thee,' the utter 
tonelessness of the speech takes it almost beyond the bounds 
of rhythm. There is scarcely a strong syllable in the phrase, 
as I read it ; the strongest is not, and the / will would be 
naturally contracted to I'll. Still it is possible to read : 

I will I not fight] with thee \ . 

" There seems no reason anxiously to avoid these short 
lines. Thus, why not read ? 

III. 1. 44. Sirrah | a word] with you | . 

Attend | these men] our pleas(ure. 

" No thought of an Alexandrine need occur. Yet, as the 
omission of ' Sirrah ' or ' with you,' would produce a regular 
line, no certainty is possible — or of consequence. 

" In III. 2. 15, * but let the frame of things disjoint, both the 
worlds suffer,' there is no such reason as in i. 2. 37 (' So they ') 
to make one line of one measure, and another of five measures. 
Such a division is, I think, really unusual. Considered as one 
line, although there are six measures, there is no Alexandrine 
rhythm. The conclusion, ' both the worlds suffer,' is that of a 
regular five-measure line, with a pause at ' disjoint,' where the 
Folios divide the line. There is possibly some error. The 
initial 'but' is not required, and is rather prosy. By omitting 
it, and making an initial trisyllabic measure, regularity is 
restored : 

Let the frame | of things] disjoint : | both the] worlds suf(fer. 

It is therefore a line from which we can conclude nothing. 

" I also cannot accept the scansion of iv. 3. 28, given by 
Professor Mayor on p. 171. It seems to me entirely unlike the 
rhythm of the rest of Macbeth, especially in ending a line with 
* but ' after a comma, that is, the ' weak ending,' and in the 
two initial measures of the strong-weak form. I would rather 
divide 

Without I leave ta]king. [short, pause] 

I pray | you, [short, initial] 



190 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Let not I my jealjoiisies | be your] dishon(our8, 

But mine | own safe]ties. You \ may be rightjly just, 

Whatevjer /] shall think | . — Bleed, bleed,] poor coun(try. 

'• But I strongly suspect the genuineness of the text 
throughout this scene ; and here the words, * I pray you,' 
which az'e quite unnecessary, may be a mere insertion, or part 
of a player's ' cut.' 

"A. II. — 'Lines defective in their internal structure,' for 
reasons already explained, may be omitted. Each requires a 
separate critical examination, either on the ground of pronuncia- 
tion or alteration, which takes it out of the present investigation. 

" B. I. — A superfluous syllable at the end of a line, or even 
two such, when both are very weak, must be admitted as common 
in heroic rhythm, especially when dramatic. The greater or 
less liking for it by particular poets is altogether another inquiry. 
But as to the existence of such syllables at the end of the second 
or third measure, after a pause, or closing a speech. Professor 
Mayor is right in supposing that I should treat them in almost 
every case as cases of trisyllabic measures. And for this reason : 
the continuation may or may not begin with a weak syllable ; 
when it does not, the final syllable of the preceding section is 
evidently effective, that is, not superfluous. Why should it 
not be so in other cases, when it merely introduces a regular 
variety, namely a trisyllabic measure. Thus in 

I. 4. 11. As 'twere | a carejless tri|fle. — There's] no art | 

the last syllable of ' trifle ' acts in the usual way. But read 
' there is\ no art I,' with an emphasis (which the passage allows), 
and we have a trisyllabic fourth measure. There is, therefore, 
no reason for considering ' -fle ' a superfluous syllable in this 
case rather than the other. 

I. 4. 27. Safe toward | your love] and honloiu-. — Wel]come hith(er. 

Here ' -our ' is effective. Had the reading been ' Thou'rt 
weljcome hithjer,' would '-our' have ceased to be effective? 
I find no need for such a supposition. 

I. 5. 36. Than would | make up] his mes|sage. — Give] him tend(ing. 
Here ' -sage ' is effective, why then not ' -stant ' in 

I, 5. 67. The fu|ture in] the in stant. — My dear|est love ? 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 191 

Might we not omit ' my,' without the slightest influence on the 
rhythm of the first section ? But then ' -stant ' must be effective, 
not superfluous. Without considering every line, I will mark 
the measures in a few, where this * superfluous ' syllable is not 
part of the trisyllabic measure which it introduces. Generally 
it will be seen that when this weak syllable is followed by 
a strong one, we have a regular weak- strong measure. But 
the final weak syllable of the first section may be followed by 
another weak one, making a weak-weak measure ; though it 
is then more commonly part of a trisyllabic measure of the 
weak-weak-strong class, and even a weak-weak-weak measure 
is possible. 

III. 1. 25. 'Twixt this | and supjper : go | not my horse] the bet(ter. 

III. 1. 34. Craving | us jointjly. Hie | you to horse :] adieu | . 

in. 1. 79. In our | last conjference, passed | in probajtion with (you. 

III. 2. 19. That shake | us nightjiy. Betjter be with] the dead. 

IV. 3. 229. Convert | to an]ger. Blunt | not the heart,] enrage (it. 
V. 6. 4. Lead our | first bat]tle. Worth |y MacdufF] and we | 

IV. 3. 117. To thy | good truth] and hon|our. Dev']lish Macbeth | . 

[Read ' dev'lish ' in two syllables, it is not once necessarily of 
three syllables in Shakspeare, even at the end of a line, as in 
Rich. III., I. 4. 265, 

Not to I relent] is beast! ly sav]age dev'(lish.] 
IV. 3. 33. For goodjness dare] not check | thee. Wear] thou thy wrongs | . 
[Perhaps ' thou ' is erroneous, as it is quite superfluous.] 

III. 6. 2. Which can | inter]pret fur|ther. On]ly, I say, | 
V. 8. 27. Here may | you see] the ty|rant. I'll | not yield | . 

[Read I'll and emphasise not, saving the rhythm by the weight 
of yield.] 

III. 4. 86. I have | a strange] infir|mity, which] is noth(ing 

To those I that know] me. [short line, decided pause] 

Come, love | and health] to all ; | then I'll] sit down | . 
Give me | some wine !] fill full ! | [short, order] 

I drink | to the gen]eral joy | o' the] whole ta(ble. 

[This might be divided thus, if the text is correct — Pope 
omits * come ' in v. 88, but it seems better left in.] 



192 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

" B. II. — Much of the so-called ' slurring,' and almost all 
the ' elision,' when not usual in common conversation, I find 
unnecessary, that is, I see no reason for not reading the words 
fully, with a natural pronunciation. As to Alexandrines divided 
among two speakers, there is always a doubt, because only two 
short lines may have been intended. These lines, therefore, lie 
out of my present province. When a five-measure line ends 
with two light superfluous syllables, it does not become an 
Alexandrine to the feeling of the reader, and there is no 
occasion to suppose one of these light syllables to be elided. 
The words ' fantastical, gentlemen, instruments,' give rise to 
such terminations. In the middle of lines they simply produce 
trisyllabic feet, as 

III. 2. 22. In rest|less ecjstasy. Dun|can is in] his grave | . 

IV. 3. 239 may be divided thus 

Put on I their in]struments. [short, pause] 

Receive | what cheer | you may, [short, initial] 

The night | is long] that nev|er finds] the day. 

I suspect, however, some error in ' receive.' A monosyllable, 
such as ' have,' would suit the rhythm, and occurs with ' cheer ' 
in other passages, Rich. III., V. 3. 74 : ' I have not that alacrity 
of spirit, Nor cheer of mind,' and AlVs Well, iii. 2. 67: 'I 
prithee, lady, have a better cheer.' Whereas 'receive cheer' 
is not used elsewhere. Certainly an Alexandrine would be very 
much out of place as the first line of a final rhyming couplet, 
and even the break, with short lines, is not what we should 
expect. But this enters into the region of conjecture and 
criticism which I wish to avoid. I pass over all the other lines 
where Professor Mayor suspects errors. And the rest of his 
remarks referring to the measures strong-strong and strong- weak, 
(which he calls spondees and trochees), in place of the theoretical 
weak-strong, merely bear out my own observations. 

"In reading through Macbeth afresh for this purpose, the 
general impression made on me is that the character of five- 
measure lines is well preserved. The fifth measure of each verse 
ends strongly, with often one, and occasionally two additional 
very weak syllables. I have not observed any so-called ' weak- 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 193 

endings.' Sometimes, not often, the fifth measure has two 
weak syllables. But two weak syllables' are also allowed to 
form a measure elsewhere, as the second in 

III. 1. 96. Distin|guishes] the swift | the slow] the sub(tle. 
III. 1. 97. Accor|ding to] the gift | which bount]eous na(ture. 

"Trisyllabic measures are common enough, perhaps more 
common than our present utterance shews. The lines are 
generally vigorous, and rhythm varied. But there are probably 
numerous errors of the printer and copyist, as indeed the 
Cambridge editors allow, ' especially as regards metre,' to use 
their own words. This makes the selection of this play rather 
unsuitable for the determination of Shakspeare's metres, and, 
as Professor Mayor states, it was not purposely so selected. 
There are a very large number of short lines, especially when 
ending and beginning speeches. Whether this was intentional, 
or is to be reckoned among errors, or arose from players' ' cuts,' 
cannot be determined. Generally they do not produce a bad 
effect. Long lines, especially real Alexandrines, are not nume- 
rous, and perhaps were never intentional." 

1 See above, p. 31. 



M. M. 13 



CHAPTER XII. 

SHAKESPEARE'S BLANK VERSE— continued. 
Hamlet. 

As Mr Ellis doubts whether Macbeth was a good play to choose 
for the purpose of determining the rhythm used by Shakespeare 
in his prime, I give the results of a similar study of Hamlet, so 
far as they seem to be of interest in the way of confirming, 
correcting or adding to the results already obtained. 

To speak first of the accent. Excess and defect of accent, 
the spondee and the pjrrhic, are common alike in all the feet. 
As examples we may take 

I. 2. 82. Togeth|er with | all forms | , moods, shapes | of grief | 
010021 1 1 02 

III. 2. 225. Thoughts black | , hands apt | , drugs fit | , and time | 

2 2 22 2202 

agree(ing 
1 

IV. 5. 190. His means I of death | , his ob|8cure fu|neral | 

1 01 002201 

I. 5. 61. Upon I my selcure hour | thy un|cle stole | 

01 002 1 010 1 

I. 1. 18. Disaslters in | the sun | ; and the j moist star ( 
010002 00 2 2 

Inversion of accent (trochee) is most commonly found in the 
1st foot, sometimes giving the efifect of a choriambus at the 
beginning of the verse, or after the middle pause or caesura, 
of which latter we may take the following as examples 

I. 1. 2. Nay, anslwer me I : stand, and I unfold | yourself | 
1101 2 001 01 

I. 1. 13. The ri|vals of I my watch | : bid them | make haste | 
010001 20 2 

But we also find it in the other feet without any preceding 
pause, sometimes giving the effect of an antispastus, as 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 195 

I. 3. 56. The wind | sits in | the shoul|der of | your sail ] 

01 100 100 1 

II. 2. 573. Been struck | so to | the soul | , that pres|ently | 

1 2001 201 

I. 5. 166. There are | more things | in heaven [ and earth | Hora(tio 

00 2 101 0101 

Thau are | dreamt of | in your | philos|ophy I 

2 110 0101 

(taking ' your ' in a contemptuous sense). 
I. 2. 13. In e|qual scale | weighing | delight | and dole | 

010 1 2002 1 

I. 3. 38. Virtue | itself ( scapes not | calum|nious strokes | 

20 01 1 0100 1 

I. 4. 42. Be thy | intents | wicked | or char|ita(ble 

10 01 20 0201 

I. 5. 15. Till the | foul crimes | done in | my days I of na(ture 

10 2 1 100101 

IV. 3. 3. Yet must | not we | put the | strong law I upon (him 

02 Olio 1 101 

I. 4. 46. Why thy | canon|ized bones | hearsed | in death | * 

20 010 1 200 1 

II. 1. 81. Pale as | his shirt | ; his knees | knocking | each oth(er 

2001 01 20 01 

III. 2. 55. No ! let | the canjdied tongue | lick ablsurd pomp I 

21010 1 201 1 

IV. 5. 84. And, as I the world | were now | but to I begin I 

110 1 01 1002 

I. 2. 37. To busliness with | the king | more than I the scope I 

010 01 20 01 

I. 2. 222. And we | did think | it writ | down in | our du(ty 

0101 01 1001 

L 3. 64. Of each | new-hatch'd | unfledg'd | comrade | . Beware I 

01 1 2 12 10 01 

(I keep the usual accentuation of comrade, as in Lear il. 4. 213.) 
I. 4. 88. Let's fol|low; 'tis | not fit | thus to | obey (him 

10 1 02 2001 

I. 5. 139. For your | desire | to know | what is | between (us 

10101 2001 

I. 1. 93. Had he | been van|quisher; as | by the same | cov'nant I 

01 100100 1 10 

(here we might make the 4th foot a pyrrhic, putting same into 
the last foot, which would then have a superfluous syllable). 
I. 2. 58. He hath | my lord | wrung from | me my | slow leave I 

0101 2 100 21 

I. 3. 4. But let I me hear | from you | . 

10 10 1 

Do you I doubt that I 

0^2 1 

I. 4. 65. I do I not set | my life | at a | pin's fee | 

0101 01002 1 

* In Shakespeare canonize regularly has the accent on the 2nd syllable. 

13—2 



196 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

II. 1. 86. 



But 


trully 


I 1 do fear | 


it. 











1 


1 





What 1 
1 


said 
1 


he 





(the stress seems to lie on said, in contrast with the appearance 
of Hamlet described before, not on he). 
ni. 4. 15. Have you | forgot | me? 

2 

No I by the rood | , not so | 

2 1 2 1 

We next take examples of irregularity in the number of 
syllables, and (A) by way of excess ; 

(a) Superfluous syllable at the end (feminine ending). 

This, as is well known, is rare in the early plays, such as 
Loves Labours Lost, where it occurs only twice in the first 50 
lines of the 1st Act, and only once in the first 50 of the 
2nd Act. On the contrary in the King's speech (Hamlet i. 2. 
1 — 39) we find 12 examples, i.e. nearly 1 in 3, and in the same 
scene (87 — 102) 10 examples in 16 lines, and in Hamlet's speech 
in the same scene (146 — 153) 5 examples in 7 lines, a proportion 
only exceeded in the un-Shakespearian portions of Henry VIII. 

Taking Mr Fleay's figures as given in p. 15 of the New 

Shakspeare Soc. Trails, for 1874^ we obtain the following general 

averages. 

Double 
Blank Verse. Endings. Proportion. 

L. L. L. 579 9 one in 64J. 

Rom. and Jul. 2111 118 one in less than 18. 

Hamlet 2490 508 one in less than 5. 

Gymbeline 2585 726 one in little more than 3^. 

But Dr Abbott has pointed out (N. 8. Soc, ib. p. 76) that 
though we may trace on the whole a steady increase in the use 
of the feminine ending, as we pass from the earlier to the later 
plays, yet such double endings are very unequally distributed 
through the scenes of the same play. Thus he contrasts 
Rich. II. Act I. Sc. 1, which he calls ' a spirited scene with a 
sort of trumpet sound about it,' and in which there is free use of 
the extra syllable (24 in 146 lines), with Act v. Sc. 5 containing 

^ Beprinted in his Shakespeare Manual, p. 135. 



SHAKESPEARE'S BLANK VERSE, 197 

Richard's soliloquy in prison, where the extra syllable occurs 
only once in 119 lines. And he thus states the occasions on 
which it is used, ' in moments of passion and excitement, in 
questions, in quarrel, seldom in quiet dialogue and narrative, 
and seldom in any serious or pathetic passage.' The phrase 
' trumpet sound ' does not commend itself to me as applicable 
here, but otherwise Dr Abbott's remarks agree fairly with my 
observations in Hamlet, except that I should add ' especially in 
the light and airy conversation of polite society.' Thus to take 
the extremes of the use of the feminine ending in Hamlet, we 
find it most freely used in 

IV. 5. 76 — 96. The King to the Queen ; average almost 
one in 2. 

V. 2. 237 — 276. Dialogue between Hamlet and Laertes; 
average the same. 

I. 3. 91 — 135. Polonius to Ophelia (omitting Ophelia's 
replies) ; average one out of 2^. 

The average is one in less than 3, in the King's speech to 
the Ambassadors and Laertes (l. 2. 1 — 56), and in the King's 
speech to Hamlet (i. 2. 87 — 117). 

If we examine these scenes, we find that in the conversa- 
tion between Hamlet and Laertes there is on both sides a 
straining after excessive courtesy, partly because they are about 
to enter into a contest of personal prowess, but even more from 
the wish, on Hamlet's part, to atone for previous rudeness, and, 
on the part of Laertes, to hide his murderous intention. By 
the use of the feminine ending the poet endeavours to reproduce 
the easy tone of ordinary life ; and this no doubt explains its 
frequency in Fletcher, the poet of society. There is felt to be 
something formal, stilted, high-flown, poetic, in the regular 
iambic metre. Three of the other scenes contain speeches by 
the King. Now the King, we know from Hamlet, is a ' smiling 
villain ' ; he affects affability and ease ; there is nothing strong 
or straightforward in his character, but he carries his point by 
cunning subtilty, ' with witchcraft of his wit.' The same expla- 
nation will account for the prevalence of feminine rhythm in 
the speech of the worldly-wise Polonius. 



198 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

CoDsider now the opposite extreme. 

I. 1. 112 — 125. Horatio's speech, average one in 14. 

III. 4. 31 — 87. Hamlet's speech to his mother, one in 9. 
„ 140—216. „ „ one in 6. 

IV. 4. 32 — 66. Hamlet's soliloquy, one in 7. 
III. 1. 56 — 88. „ „ one in 7. 

I. 5. 10 — 91. Ghost's speech, one in less than 7. 

II. 2. 473 — 540. Old play (The rugged Pyrrhus), one in 6^. 

III. 3. 73 — 96. Hamlet (seeing his uncle praying), one in 5|. 
„ 36 — 71. King's soliloquy, one in 5. 

Horatio's speech commencing ' A mote it is to trouble the 
mind's eye,' is a piece of fine imaginative poetry, standing in 
strong contrast with his preceding rapid business-like statement 
about the claim of Fortinbras. In place of the rough, broken 
rhythm of the former speech, we have here some four or five of 
the most musically varied lines in Shakespeare, marked by slow 
movement, long vowels and alliteration. It is only as Horatio 
descends to earth again, that we have the double ending in 
1. 124. In Hamlet's speech to his mother, he appears as a stern 
preacher, obeying the command received from his murdered 
father. Plainly there is no place here for ease and politeness. 
The same may be said of the ghost's speech, only that it has an 
added solemnity. The old play is necessarily regular and formal. 
Soliloquies, if quietly meditative, or the outpouring of a pleasing 
emotion, will naturally take the regular poetic form : if agitated, 
or vehemently argumentative they will be irregular, marked by 
the use of sudden pauses, feminine ending and trisyllabic feet, as 
we see in i. 2. 129 — 160 ' O that this too too solid flesh would 
melt,' etc. This is remarkably shewn in the speech beginning 
' To be or not to be.' where we find five double endings in the 
first 8 lines, these being perplexed and argumentative ; but in 
the next 20 lines there is not a single feminine ending, as 
these are merely the pathetic expression of a single current of 
thought. Then in 1. 83 follow reflections of a more prosaic 
turn, and we again have two double endings. It may be noticed 
that in the soliloquies ill. 3. 36 — 96, six of the twelve double 
endings consist of the word heaven or prayers, which are hardly 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 199 

to be distinguished from monosyllables. One other instance 
may be quoted to illustrate Shakespeare's use of the feminine 
ending. In I, 1. 165 Horatio says 

So have | I heard | and do | in part | believe (it. 
But, look I , the morn | in rusjset manltle clad | , 
Walks o'er | the dew | of yon | high east [ward hill | . 

The 1st line is conversational, the two others imaginative with- 
out passion, only with a joyful welcome of the calm, bright, 
healthy dawn after the troubled, spectral night ; and we have a 
corresponding change in the rhythm. 

I think Dr Abbott goes too far in saying (S. G. § 455) that 
the extra syllable is very rarely a monosyllable. No doubt it 
is very rarely an ' emphatic monosyllable,' but pronouns such as 
you, it, him, them, etc. are common enough, e.g. 

I. 1. 104. So by I his fa|ther lost | : and this | I take (it 
cf I. 1. 165, 172, I. 5. 119, 121 ; 

I. 2. 234. Nay ve|ry pale | . 

And fixed | his eyes | upon (you 

cf I. 3. 24, 95, I. 5. 129, 138, 180, 183, 185 ; 

I. 3. 57. And you | are stayed | for. There | , my bless|iug with (thee 
.1. 3. 103. Do you | believe | his tenjders as | you call (them 

cf I. 4. 24 : 

I. 4. 39. Angels | and minjisters | of grace | defend (us 
cf I. 5. 139 ; 

I. 4. 84. By heaven | I'll make | a ghost | of him | that lets (me 
cf ri. 2. 125 ; 

I. 4. 87. Let's foljlow ; 'tis j not meet | thus to | obey (him 
cf 1. 5. 113,11. 1. 13, 19, 29; 

II. 2. 143. This must | not be | and then | I pre|cepts gave (her 
We also find not in i. 1. 67 ; 

In what I partic|ular thought | to work | I know (not. 
Sometimes the line ends with two superfluous syllables, more or 
less slurred, e.g. 

I. 2. 57. Have you | your fa|ther's leave ? | What says | Polo(nius 



200 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

I. 2. 119. I pray | thee stay | with us | ; go not | to Wit(tenberg 

176. My lord | I came | to see | your fa|ther's fu(neral 
11. 2. 459. The unlnerved fa|ther falls | . Then sense|less I(lium 
II. 2. 91. And tedliousness | the limbs | and out|ward flour(ishes 
II. 2. 70. To give | the assay | of arms | against | your maj(esty 

cf. III. 1. 22 ; 

II. 2, 539. What's He|cuba | to him | or he | to Hec(uba 

(6) Superfluous syllable in the middle of the line (feminine 
section or caesura). 

I think Mr Ellis has succeeded in shewing that the assump- 
tion of the ' section ' is not essential to the scanning of any line ; 
and the fact that there is so little trace of it in Surrey and 
Marlowe is not in favour of Dr Guest's idea, that it was still 
felt to be obligatory in Shakespeare's time. Shakespeare how- 
ever would seem to have perceived the gain to the heroic rhythm, 
which would arise from making more use of the caesura ; and I 
think that the extra syllable which so often precedes the caesura 
in his verse, must have been felt by him to be analogous to the 
feminine ending. It is a difficult point to prove ; but the 
following facts are in accordance with such a supposition. 
(1) The large proportion of cases in which an unaccented syl- 
lable preceding the caesura is not needed for the metre : in 
the first two scenes of Hamlet we have 46 lines with such a 
syllable, in 21 of which it is superfluous ; (2) the frequent use 
of a trochee in the 3rd or 4th foot, when a pause has preceded, 
corresponding to the trochee in the 1st foot; (3) the fact 
that short or broken lines often end with a superfluous syllable, 
which in them, at any rate, must be regarded as a feminine 
ending ; and the further fact that many of the lines, in which 
the feminine caesura occurs, are really made up of two broken 
lines, e.g. 

I. 1. 17. Who hath | relieved | you ? 

Bemar|do hath | my place | 
I. 2. 160. Hail to | your lord|ship. 

I'm glad j to see | you well | 
I. 2. 167. I'm ve|ry glad | to see | you. 

Good ev|en Sir | 

v. 2. 332. To tell | my sto|ry. 

What warlike noise i is this I . 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 201 

In such lines it seems a little absurd to keep the un- 
accented syllable in suspension, as it were, through a lengthened 
pause, until the latter part of the anapaest is forthcoming. (4) 
If we compare with the trisyllabic feet, which are produced by 
treating the extra syllable as metrically effective, those tri- 
syllabic feet which are unconnected with the caesura, we find 
many more of the former; thus, in the first two scenes of 
Hamlet, I find 16 of what, I may call, the true or independent 
trisyllabic feet, and 21 of the apparent trisyllabic feet, which 
make use of the extra syllable of the caesura. (5) Sometimes 
we find two superfluous unaccented syllables before the middle 
pause, which can only' be made metrically effective by changing 
the line into an Alexandrine, as 

I. 5. 162. A wor[thy ]ii\oneer. Once more \ remove | good friends | 
II. 1. 112. I had I not quo|^eo? him : I feared | he did | but tri(fle 

(c) True anapaests are found in all the feet ; dactyls rarely, 
except in the 1st foot ; still more rarely tribrach, and amphi- 
brach or bacchius. 
II. 1. 25. Ay, or drinkjing, fen|cing, swear|ing, quar|relling | 

1 

III. 1. 154. The observ'd | of all | obserlvers, quite | , quite down | 

1 

V. 1. 241. To o'ertop I old Pel|ion or | the sky|ish head | 

1 

IV. 5. 13. iTwere good | she were spojken with | ; for she | may strew | 

1 

II. 2. 554. Tweaks me | by the nose I , gives me | the lie | i' the throat | 

2 0001 10 02001 

I. 2. 93. Of imp|ious stub jbornness ; 'tis | unman|ly grief I 

2 1 

I. 2. 157. With such | dexter|ity to | inces|tuous sheets | 

00 10 1 

I. 1. 86. Did slay | this Fort|inbras, who I by a seal'd | compact | 

00 1 001 01 

I. 1. 114. A litltle ere | the migh|tiest Ju|lius fell | 

10 1 

The graves | stood ten|antless | and the sheet|ed dead | 

1 1200 00102 

II. 1. 107. What, have I you given | him an|y hard words | of late | 

1 1 0101 1 01 

[Here the 4th foot is bacchius, but we might divide 
him any | hard words | 

10 1 1 

giving an amphibrach for the 3rd foot, and a spondee for the 
fourth.] 



202 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

I. 1. 83. Thereto | prick'd on ) by a | most em|ulate pride j 

1 

I. 2. 83. That cau I denote | me trujly: these | indeed seem i 

2 

[or we might treat this as a case of feminine caesura and 
divide the last two feet 

these in [deed seem | ] 

2 1 2 

I. 4. 31. Carrying | I say | the stamp ! of one | defect | 

10 

IV. 4. 40. Bestial | oblivlion or | some cra|ven scru(ple 

10 1 

IV. 5. 13. Dangerous | conjec|tures in | ill-breed|ing minds | 

10 

I. 5. 133. I'm sorlry they ] oflfend ] you, hear|tily | ; 
Yes, faith | , heartily I . 

2 1 1 ' 

There's no | offence | my lord | . 

(d) Lines of six feet (Alexandrines) are very rare, except 
when they are divided between two speakers. What seem to 
be undivided Alexandrines are sometimes lines with two super- 
fluous syllables, or they are possibly corrupt, or admit of other 
explanations, as follows. 

I. 2. 2. The memjory | be green | , and that | it us | befit(ted. 

I incline to omit that it with Steevens. It is a cumbrous 
phrase, apparently inserted to facilitate the construction. 

I. 3. 24. Whereof | he is | the head \ . Then, if | he says he loves (you 

I think Pope is right in omitting the. 
I. 5. 13. Are burnt | and purged | away ] . But that | I am | forbid | 

I should read I'm and make the 4th foot a dactyl. 

I. 5. 187. God wil|ling, shall | not lack | . Let us | go in | toge(ther 

I think Hanmer is right in omitting together, which may 
have been inserted from below. 

II. 1. 57. Or then | , or then | , with such | , or such | , and, as | you say i 

Pope omits the 2nd or then. I think it is better to consider 
this a line of prose, like i. 5. 176, 7 (As 'well, well, we know,' etc.). 

II. 1. 112. I had I not quo|ted him | : I fear'd | he did | but tri(fle 

And meant | to wreck | thee ; but | beshrew | my jeallousy | 

The former line should, I think, be read with two super- 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 203 

fluous syllables at the hemistich : in the latter I should omit 
hut, which is not wanted here, and may perhaps have slipt in 
from the previous line. 

II. 2. 564. Fie up|on't ! foh ! | About | , my brain | ! Hum, I | have heard | 

I have no doubt that the first three words at any rate should 
be joined to the previous broken line. They continue in the 
same strain of self-disgust; while a new start is taken with 
' About my brain/ which might well be preceded and followed 
by a pause. 

III. 2. 373. Contajgion to | this world | : now could j I drink i hot blood | 

The Quarto of 1637 has the for this, which is both more natural 
in itself, and has the further advantage of reducing the line to 
the ordinary number of feet. 

IV. 3. 7. But nev'er the | offence | . To bear | all smooth | and e(ven 

Here we might take never as one syllable (ne'er), like ever and 
over, but I see no objection to supposing that we have here two 
broken lines, separated by a pause. 

IV. 5. 79. For good | Polon|ius' death | ; and we I have done | but green(ly 

I should omit and with Pope. The clause, which it introduces, 
is not one of the series of sorrows named, but a parenthetical 
regret, suggested by one of them, viz. the discontent of the 
people. 

IV. 5. 137. Of your | dear fajther's death | , is't writ | in your | revenge | 

This seems more like a true Alexandrine than any other line 
in the Play, but the word dear may easily have been inserted, 
and perhaps it is more in harmony with the lofty tone assumed 
by the king, to abstain from the use of any coaxing word, until 
Laertes recedes from his personal threats. 

IV. 7. 182. Unto | that el|ement | : but long | it could | not be | 

Here T think we have two superfluous syllables at the he- 
mistich. 

I. 2. 90. That fa|ther lost | lost his | , and the | 8urvi|vor bound | 

Both metre and construction lead one to suspect error here, 
but no satisfactory emendation has been proposed. 



204 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

V. 2. 68 

— is't I not per I feet con i science 
To quit I him with | this arm | ? And is't | not to | be damn'd | 

I think Hanmer is right in omitting and. If any word were 
wanted, it should rather be nay. 

B. Syllabic defect 

I do not know that I need add anything to what has been 
said on Fragmentary Lines, except in reference to Mr Ellis's 
remark, that it seems ludicrous to suppose a ' common section ' 
to be intended to complete two broken lines. I do not of 
course suppose it to be actually repeated, but the remembrance 
of the rhythm to affect and, as it were, justify the following 
rhythm. At any rate it seems to me a fact that, when we have 
three broken lines in succession, the 2nd as a rule fits into the 
1st, and the 3rd into the 2nd, so that, to the ear, three halves 
seem to constitute two wholes. Thus in i. 2. 226 foil. I think 
the effect to the ear is as follows : 

Armed say | you ? Armed | my lord | . From top | to toe | ? 

[From top | to toe] My lord | from head | to foot | 

Then saw | you not | his face | ? O, yes | my lord | 

[0, yes I my lord] he wore | his bea|ver up | . 

What; looked | he frownjingly | 1 A count|enance moi-e | 

In sorjrow than | in an|ger. Pale | or red | ? 

Thus arranged we see the reason for the rhythm of the last 
three words, which are generally printed by themselves, as a 
short line. Otherwise, to make them rhythmical, we should 
have to treat pale as a monosyllabic first foot. 

Of the few Defective Lines in Hamlet, one or two are 
plainly corrupt, as 

III. 4. 169. And eiither A | the devil | or throw | him out | 

IV. 1. 40. And what's | untime|ly done | A 

and in others it is at any rate probable that a word has been 
lost, as in 

II. 1. 83. To speak | of hor|rors, j he comes | Ixifore (me 

where Pope inserts thus before he. 

II. 1. 91. As he I would draw | it. | Long stayed | he so | 

where Pope inserts time after long. 



Shakespeare's blank verse. 205 

III. 3. 38. A brofhjer's murjder. | Pray can | I not | 

Here Hanmer reads Pray, alas, I cannot, but the pause after 
murder may perhaps supply the place of a syllable. 

IV. 4. 17. Truly | to speak | and | with no j addit(ion 

Pope improves both metre and construction by the insertion 
of it after speak. 

IV. 4. 65. To hide | the slain | . O | from this | time forth | 

Pope inserts then after 0, but the exclamation may easily cover 
the two syllables. 

I. 3. 8. Forward | not per|manent | , sweet | not last(ing 

Capell inserts hut after sweet. Possibly the pause and the 
length of the word may be considered to make up for the 
missing syllable. 

I. 1. 50. Stay ! speak, speak ! I charge thee, speak ! 

Here it would seem that each of the first three words stands 
for a foot. 

III. 4. 177. One word more, good lady. 

What shall I do ? 

Here it is possible to get the proper number of feet by giving 
two syllables to more. 

IV. 7. 60. Will you be ruled by me ? 

Ay, my lord. 

Walker inserts good before lord, but we may perhaps disyllabize 
ay, as in iv. 3. 45 

For Englland. For Eng|land? A|y Ham|let. Good | 

and 

II. 1. 36. Wherefore | should you | do this | 1 Ay j my lord | 

Of Fragmentary Lines occurring at the beginning, middle, 
or end of longer speeches, and not supplemented by other short 
lines, I find 66, of which 3 consist of one syllable, as ' Swear ' ; 9 
of two, as ' Mark you,' ' Yet I ' ; 8 of three, as ' Speak to me,' 
' I have sworn't,' ' a scullion ' ; 14 of four, as * Last night of all ' ; 
12 of five, as 'Thou know'st already'; 13 of six, as 'To hear 
him so inclined ' ; 7 of seven, as ' What is the cause, Laertes ? ' 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MODERN BLANK VERSE. 

Tennyson and Browning. 

We have seen (p. 14 foil.) that Dr Guest condemns 
the freedom of Milton's versification as licentious, and that 
Dr Abbott to some extent shares his view in so far as regards 
Milton's use of trochees and trisyllabic feet (p. 38 foil). It 
may be well therefore to begin with an analysis of the Miltonic 
rhythm in order to appreciate better the license practised by 
the poets of our own time, both in respect of pauses and of 
the substitution of other feet in place of the iamb. I have 
accordingly taken sections of 200 lines each from the poems of 
Milton, Tennyson and Browning, with a view to ascertain the 
comparative frequency of the occurrence of such irregularities. 
Though it is probable that no two persons would agree pre- 
cisely as to the pauses and the feet to be found in a passage 
of some length, yet for the purpose of comparison, this will 
not make very much difference. As a rule I have followed 
the printed stopping, except when it appeared to me that 
this had reference rather to the gi-ammatical construction than 
to the actual reading of the verse. 

The passages selected are Milton (a) Par. Reg. I. 1 — 200, 
(y8) ib. 201 — 400 ; Tennyson Oenone, Gardener's Daughter, 
Enoch Arden, Lucretius, Gareth, Balin, Sisters, Sir John Old- 
castle; Browning Aristophanes, Ring and Book IV. I have 



MODERN BLANK VERSE. 207 

analyzed the 1st at length, and contented myself with tabu- 
lating the results of the others. 

Par. Reg. i. 1—200. 

Lines without any pause, 30, or a little over 1 in 7. 

Pauses. Lines with final pause only, 53, or a little over 
1 in 4. 

Lines with internal pause only, 71, or a little over 
1 in 3. 

Lines with both final and internal pause, 46, or 
a little under 1 in 4, 

Pause after 1st syllable, 1 in 200*. 

after 1| syllables', 2 in 200 or 1 in 100. 
after 2 .„ ^ 10, or 1 in 20. 
after 3 „ 10, or 1 in 20. 
after 4 „ 28, or 1 in about 7. 
after 5 „ 15, or 1 in 13^. 
after 6 „ 38, or 1 in about 5^. 
after 7 „ 14, or 1 in about 14i 
after 8 „ 12, or 1 in 16|. ^ 
after 9 „ 1 in 200. 

Feminine Ending*. 12, or 1 in 16|. 
Substitution of other feet in place of the iamh. 

Pyrrhic. 58 out of 200, or 1 in a little over 3| lines. 
Spondee. 69, or 1 in less than 3. 
Trochee. 48, or 1 in 4Jjj. 

(of which 12 are not initial, or 1 in 16f). 
Anapaest. 42, or 1 in a little over 5. 
Dactyl. 2, or 1 in 100. 

1 Of course a line with two or more internal pauses is reckoned more than 
once in this list. 

2 By this I mean pause after initial trochee. 

3 By this I mean a pause after the 1st foot when it is iamb, spondee, pyrrhic, 
dactyl or anapaest; and so, throughout, the even numbers denote the end, the 
odd the middle of a foot. 

•* In reckoning feminine endings and trisyllabic feet I have given the full 
number of syllables to doubtful words, such as power, lieaven. 



208 



ON ENGLISH METRE. 





Milton 


Tennyson 


Browning 1 


a 


P 


s 

o 

a 

<s 

53 

65 

17 

2 

5 

8 

14 

23 

44 

26 

19 

4 



14 

66 
45 


c5 

61 

59 

17 

4 

1 

7 

14 

40 

15 

32 

26 

11 

7 

1 

48 
61 

33 

11 
15 




75 
45 
19 

7 

1 

5 

13 

21 

19 

18 

31 

3 

3 

8 

66 
51 

46 

7 

21 

1 


49 

75 

29 

8 

6 

9 

22 

31 

22 

12 

23 

29 

6 

5 

37 

6 

45 

3 


1 

48 
57 
29 
6 
1 
11 
12 
39 
25 
30 
22 
11 
16 
13 

26 

6 

33 

8 


* 

13 

6 

13 

16 

34 

12 

29 

14 

17 

7 

6 

44 

7 
30 

1 


.g 
1 

11 
6 
14 
15 
29 
26 
18 
27 
22 
14 
6 

30 

7 
24 

1 


1 
1 

42 
48 
11 
16 

1 
18 
19 
50 
20 
25 
18 
14 

5 
lot 

34 

12 

48 
2 


53 

45 

19 

7 

3 

3 

27 

27 

30 

21 

32 

5 

5 

1 

31 

80 

65 

12 

27 

1 


1 

49 
45 
35 
15 
1 

10 

16 

23 

26 

14 

15 

8 

2 



6 

88 
2 


Pauses 
Final only 


53 


39 
77 
19 
1 

16 


Internal only 


71 
30 

1 
2 


None 


After 1st syll. 


H 


2 


10 


3 


10 

28 


15 
21 
12 
45 
20 
18 
3 
10 

49 

75 


4 


5 


15 
38 


6 


7 


14 
12 

1 


8 


9 


Feminine ending 


12 

58 
69 


Substitution 
Pyrrhic 


Spondee 


Trochee 
(initial) 


36 

12 

42 


33 


48 


(not initial) 


24 

30 

2 


2 

25 

1 


Anapaest 


Dactyl 


2 



* I have left blanks where I thought it was unimportant to ascertain the 
numbers. 

t Two of which are double, having two superfluous syllables. 



MODERN BLANK VERSE. 209 

Though the preceding table shews that the poets are far 
from practising a monotonous uniformity, yet I think we may 
gather from it that Tennyson and Browning are not more ob- 
servant of the a-priori laws of the metrists than Milton is. 
They have on the whole more lines with final, but without 
internal pause ; somewhat fewer with internal, but without 
final pause; about the same without any pause at all. As 
to the forbidden internal pauses, they use the pause after 
the 1st, 3rd, and 9th syllables more frequently than Milton, 
and do not differ much from him in their use of the pause 
after 1|, 2, 8. With regard to the middle pauses, those which 
divide the feet, coming after the 5th or 7 th syllable, are 
more favoured by the moderns than by Milton, whose com- 
monest pause is after the 6th syllable, and then longo intervallo 
after the 4th. In Oenone the pause after the 5th syllable pre- 
vails, but taking all the passages together the pause after the 
4th seems to be Tennyson's favourite, while Browning seems to 
prefer the 5th and 7th. This last also abounds in Swinburne. 
In his Erechtheus it comes twice as often as any other pause. 
Feminine ending is very rare in Browning, but in Tennyson 
is hardly less frequent than in Milton. Nor is there any 
marked difference as regards substitution of feet, except that 
the non-initial trochee is more common in Milton than in 
the others. In two passages of Tennyson the anapaest is 
found more often than in Milton ; in one passage of Browning 
it occurs more than twice as often. 

My reason for selecting Tennyson and Browning as repre- 
sentatives of Modern English verse is not merely that they 
stand highest in general estimation at the present time, but 
that they are so sharply contrasted, the one naturally inclining 
to a strong and masculine realism, apparently careless of sound, 
and only too happy to startle and shock and puzzle his readers ; 
the other richly ornate, with an almost feminine refinement, 
and a natural delight in ' linked sweetness long drawn out,' 
' deep-chested music, hollow oes and aes,' such as we find in 
the Morte d' Arthur and Oenone. It is thus a matter of great 
interest to observe the different ways in which novelty of 
rhythm is sought after by each. One which seems to be 

M. M. 14 



210 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

peculiarly Tennysonian is the opposition of the metrical to 
the verbal division, by which I mean making the words end 
in the middle of the feet, as in 

With ro|sy slenjder fin|gers back|ward drew | . 
We might describe this as trochaic or feminine rhythm in 
opposition to the markedly iambic or masculine rhythm of 

Puts forth I an arm | and creeps | from pine | to pine | . 
Other variations from the normal line will be seen in the lines 
cited below. It will be noticed that examples of the double 
trochee, which was condemned as a monstrosity in Milton, are 
to be found occasionally even in Tennyson and are common 
enough in Browning. 
Oareth. His horse | thereon | stumbled | ay, for | I saw (it. 

01 01 20 1001 

What ! shall | the shield | of Mark I stand ajmong these ? | 

2 00 102 200 2 

— stood 
Beauti|ful a|mong lights, | and waiving to (him 

20000 1 0101 

White hands and courtesy — 
Arden, The litjtle in|noccnt soul | flitted | away. | 

10100 1 20 01 

Down at j the far | end of | an av|enue, | 

1002100101 

Just where | the prone I edge of I the wood | began. | 

10 1 2 0'0 1 01 

Take your | own time, | Annie, | take your I own time. | 

10 211010 21 

(a line which, according to my reading, is made up of five 
trochees). 

'Then for | God's sake,' | he ansjwered, 'both | our sakes.' j 

10 20 010 201 

He, not I for his | own self | caring, I but her | 

11012120 02 

Balin. I thought | the great | tower would | crash down | on both | 

01 01 2 2101 

Princess. Strove to | buffet | to land | in vain. | A tree | . 

1 2001 01 01 

Palpiltated, | her hand | shook, and | we heard I . 

2010 1 2 1 

Down the I low tur|ret stairs, | palpi jtating | 

1 120 1 2010 

(The expressive rhythm of the last line is destroyed by the 
scansion suggested in English Lessons § 138 

Down the j low turjret sta|irs pal|pita(ting.) 
Balin. KoUing | back up|on Ballin crushed | the man | . 

20 2 0010 2 1 



MODERN BLANK VERSE. 



211 



Examples of trisyllabic substitution. 



Oareth. 

Princess. 

Harold. 
Gareth. 
Oenone. 

Gareth. 

Arden. 
Harold v. 

Gareth. 



birds made 
1 



some pale 

1 2 



Camelot, I a cilty of shadjowy pallaces. i 

2 00 0100 1 00 101 

Southward | they set | their falces. The 

2 01 010 02 

Melody | on branch I and mel|ody in | mid air. | 

200 1 'O 2000 1 1 

Myriads | of riv|ulets hur|rying thro' | the lawn. 

200 0100 100 1 1 

Fluctuajted as flow|ers in storm, | some red 

20100100 1 1 2 

Sanguelac, | Sanguelac, | the ar|row, the ar|row ! away ! I 

2 00 200 010 010 01 

And there | were none | but few | goodlier | than he. I 

01 01 200 01 

And lisltened, the | full-flow|ing riv|er of speech. | 

010 110 2 00 1 

Rests like | a shadjow, and | the cica|la sleeps. I 

2 010 0010 1 

The hoof | of his horse | slipt in | the stream, 

01001 200 1 

Descended — 

Then, aflter a | long tumjble about | the Cape | 

1 100 1 2001 1 

2. — We should have a hand 

To grasp | the world | with, and | a foot f to stamp (it 
Flat. Praise | the Saints. | It is o|ver. No | more blood. 

2 1 1 0010 1 1 

Bearing | all down j in thy I preciplitancy. | 

"10 1 

unbur liable. I 

1 00 1 



the stream 

1 



110 

warm corpse | and yet 

1 10 1 



Guinevere. 



1 

A yet 

1 

For thou I hast evjer ans|wered cour|teously. I 

1 101 1001 

Immingjled with | heaven's az|ure wa|veringly 

10 1 101001 

To whom ! the litltle nov|ice gar|rulously | 

1 010 101001 



(Tennyson has a peculiar affection for a final anapaest forming 
part of a word of four or more syllables.) 



Gareth. 



How he 

2 


1 went down, 

1 2 


1 said Galreth, 

10 


as 
1 


1 ^ 




false 
1 


knight 
1 



(If this is the proper scansion, it is a remarkable instance of an 
anapaest in iambic metre with an accent on the 2nd syllable. 
Cf. a line from Hamlet cited at the bottom of p. 201. In 
anapaestic metre the accent is often overridden.) 



At times I the sum|mit of | the high cit|y flashed j 

10 100 010 2 



U— 2 



212 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

In the lines which follow the trisyllabic feet are perhaps 
more naturally described as tribrachs than as anapaests, though 
in some the final short syllable might form part of the following 
foot. 

Oaretk. Para|bles ! Hear | a parjable of | the knave. | 

200 1 01000 1 

Down the I long avienues of | a bound|less wood | 

1 110000 1 1 

Of thine I obe|dience and | thy love | to me | 

1 0100 1 01 

Thou art | the king|liest of | all kit|chen-knaves | 

1 1000110 1 

Oenone. And shoullder; from | the vilolet her | light foot | 

010 1 01000 1 1 

The feminine ending very often consists of a monosyllable 

Oareth. But where|fore would | ye men | should won(der at (you 
Oenone. Crouch'd faw|ning in | the weed. | Most lov|ing is (she? 

sometimes it is part of a tetrasyllable as 

Have all | his pret|ty young | ones ed|uca(ted. 
In sai|lor fashjion roughjly ser|moni(zing. 

It is rare to have two superfluous syllables at the end of the 
line, as 

Princess. And lit|tle-foot|ed Chi|na, touched | on Ma(homet. 

But love I and na|ture, these | are two | more ter(rible. 

We find an Alexandrine in Harold 

From child | to child, | from Pope | to Pope, | from age | to age. j 

It has been mentioned that modern poets are fond of placing 
the pause after the uneven syllables. When the preceding 
syllable is accented, this very much changes the character of 
the metre, and in Mr and Mrs Browning has the efFeq,t at times 
of a sharp discord, not always resolved by the succeeding 
harmony. I give here specimens from Tennyson, italicizing 
the irregular accent. 
Princess. Till the | sun drop | dead, from | the signs. | Her voice | 

0021 2 001 1 

Choked, and I her forelhead sank I upon I her hands. I 

2 0010 10101 

Blackened | about | us, bats | wheeled, and I owls whooped. I 

200102 1 2 1 

Oareth. The Laldy of I the Lake I stood : all I her dress I 

010001 \ 101 



MODERN BLANK VERSE. 



213 



Guinevere. 



Wept from | her sides, | as wa|ter flowjing away. I 

2 1 010 1001 

A star I shot : ' Lo ' | , said Ga|reth, ' the I foe falls.' | 

01 2 1 010 021 

An owl I whoopt : ' Hark I the vic|tor pealling there.' I 

01 2 1 010101 

Clung to I the dead i earth, and I the land I was still. 

2 002 1 01 01 



One reason for the irregularity shewn in the lines I have 
quoted, is doubtless the simple love of novelty and variety; 
but no attentive reader can have failed to observe that in 
most instances there is a special appropriateness of the rhythm 
to the thought, and that the expressiveness of the rhythm is 
often much assisted by the selection of vowel and consonant 
sounds, as in 

Princess. —the river sloped 

To plunge | in cat|aract shat|tering on | black blocks | 

2 0200 2000 2 2 

A breath of thunder — 
Morte d' Arthur. Dry clashed | his harjness in | the i|cy caves | 
And barjren chas|ms, and all | to left | and right | 
The bare | black cliff | clanged round | him, as | he based | 
His feet | on juts | of sliplpery crag, | that rang | 
Sharp-smit|ten with | the dint | of arm|ed heels : | 
And on | a sud|den, lo ! | the levjel lake, | 
And the | long glojries of | the win|ter moon. | 
Her hand | dwelt ling|ering]ly on | the latch. | 

1 20100 1 

with vacillajting obeldience | 

2 10 010 1 

— the drum 
Beat; mer|rily blow|ing shrilled [ the marjtial fife, | 

2 100 10 2 100 1 

And, in | the blast \ and bray | of the | long horn | 

010 10 1 00 1 1 

And ser|pent-throa|ted bug|le, un|dula(ted 

- 0101010201 

The banner — 

— as when a boat 



Ga/reth. 



Princess. 



1 

Linger 

2 



the slack|ened sail \ flaps, all ! her voice 
0101 2 I'oi 

her throat, | she cried 

1 1 



Tacks, and 

2 

Faltering | and flutjtering in 

100 100 

My brother — , 



Sometimes the effect of the line, as read, though not the metre 
itself, might be more exactly given by a reference to the more 
complex classical measures. Thus 



214 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Ouinevere. Ready | to spring; | waiting | a chance: I for this I 

1001 100 1 01 

might be described as made up of two choriambs and an iamb 

( — \j\j — r—v^v^— I v/ — \ 

Arden. The dead I weight of I the dead I leaf bore I it down | 

01 2001 1201 

bacchius, ionic a minore, cretic {^ — | ^^^ — | -w-). 
Then down | the long | street havling slowlly stollen 

1 1 01 1 10101 

spondee, bacchius, three trochees ( — \ ^ — \-^ \-y-> \ -^). 
And glorlies of | the broad | belt of | the world I 

010001 2001 

amphibrach, ionic a minore, anapaest {■^-^ \ ^^ — | ^^-). 
Oenmie. A fire | dances | before | her, and | a sound | 

02 20 01 0001 

iamb, trochee, amphibrach, anapaest {^- \ -^ \ ^-^ [ v^w-). 

The only other point which needs illustration is the un- 
stopped line, of which the following may be taken as examples. 

Ouinevere. And saw the queen who sat between her best 

Enid, and lissome Vivien, of her court 

The wiliest — 
Gareth. — what stick ye round 

The pasty? 
Sisters. — I heard 

Wheels, and a noise of welcome at the doors. 

I proceed to give examples of similar irregularities from 
Browning, 

Jtinff and Book. 

IV. 180. Tracked her | home to | her house-ltop, no|ted too I 

1 10010101 

IV. 830. Help a | case the | Archbishlop would | not help | 

2010 0101 01 

IV. 868. Bless the | fools ! and | 'tis just | this way | they are blessed | 

20 2 001 11 00 1 

VI. 942. God and | man, and | what dujty I | owe both | 

20 20 010112 

VI. 1048. Hating | lies, let | not her | believe | a lie | 

20 2 1 01 0201 

VI. 1443. Matu|tinal, | busy | with book | so soon I 

1010 10 1 01 

VI. 1603. Leap to | life of | the pale | elecltric sword I 

20 200 1010 1 



MODERN BLANK VERSE. 215 

VI. 1643. Noted | down in | the book | there, turn | and see | 

10 1001 1 2 01 

VI. 1915. One by | one at ( all hon|est forms | of life | 

20 20 210 1 01 

VI. 1952. Foes or | friends, but | indisjsolubjly bound | 

20 2 01010 1 

VI. 2078. She and | I are | mere stran|gers now: | but priests I 

20201 201 1 

Should study passion — 
IV. 36. One calls | the square | round, t'othler the | round square I 

110 2 2 100 2 2 

IV. 303. It all I comes of | God givjing her | a child | 

01 10 110001 

IV. 307. Why, thou | exact | prince, is | it a pearl | or nol \ 

1 01 1 1001,01 

IV. 869. And the | world wags | still, belcause fools I are sure | 

00 2 1 101 201 

VI. 917. Would that | prove the | first lyjing tale I was true? | 

1 2 1101 01 

VI. 1319. That I | liked, that ] was the | best thing | she said ] 

202 2 00 21 01 

VI. 1642. I heard I charge, and | bore quesjtion and | told tale | 

01 2 1 10011 

VI. 1876. And silk | mask in | the pock let of | the gown | 

01 10010001 

IV. 880. With that I fine can|dour on|ly forth|coming | 

1 22010 120 

VI. 820. And the way | to end | dreams ii^| to break | them, stand, | 

001021001 2 

Walk, go : | then help j me to | stand, walk | and go. [ 

22 12 00 2 1 01 

VI. 1244. — Much more if stranger men 

Laugh or | frown, — just | as that | were much | to bear | 

10 1 10201 01 

VI. 1859. — I saved his wife 

Against | law : a|gainst law | he slays | her now | 

01 201211 01 

VI. 427. Hallo, | there's Gui|do, the | black, mean, | and small j 

1 1 1 

VI. 481 — ' Lent 

Ended,' | I told | friends ' I | shall go | to Rome ' | 

1001 1 10101 

VI. 5. And know | it again. | Answer | you? Then | that means I 

01001100 1 1 1 

VI. 8. Fronting I you same | three in | this ver|y room | 

10 1 10 1101 

VI. 12. Laughter, I no levlity, nothling indec/orous, lords | 

1 1100 1 00100 1 

(We have the same pronunciation of ' indecorous ' in 

Arist. 135. More de|cent yet | indec|orous | enough | .) 

VI. 136. In good I part. Bet|ter late | than nevler, law ! | 

01 1 101 0101 

VI. 185. In the I way he | called love. I He is the | fool there | 

10021 2 2 00 2 1 



216 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

VL 223. Oldest | now, greatlest once, | in my I birth-town | 

20 1 201 00 21 

Arez|zo, I rec|ognize | no e|qual there. | 

10 1 

VI. 383. Heads that | wag, eyes | that twinkjle modjified mirth I 

1 1 1 10100 1 

VI. 92. I held | so ; you | decifded oth|erwise, | 

Saw no I such perjil, there|fore no | such need | 

To stop I song, loos|en flower I and leave I path : Law, I 

01 1101 01 1 2 

Law was | aware | and watch |ing — 
VI. 1786. For a wink I of the owl|eyes of | you. How I miss then I 

001 001110 1 2 

VI. 1800. I' the quaglmire of | his own | tricks, cheats, | and lies I 

0010001 2 1 01 

VI. 120. Do I speak | ambig|uously? | the glojry, 1 say, | 

00 1 01001 2001 

And the beaujty, I say, | and splenldour, still | say I, I 

00 2001 2 1 01 

Who, a I priest, trained | to live | my whole | life long I 

102 1 010211 

On beaujty and splen|dour, soleily at | their source, | 
God — have | thus recognized my food — 

2 11 

Sometimes the effect to the ear might be indicated, as 
before, by a reference to the more complex classical measures, 
e.g. 
IV. 216. Lies to | God, lies | to man, | every | way lies | 

20 1 201 10 02 

cretic, cretic, dactyl, long syllable (- ^ - | - ^ - | -^y^ | -). 

VI. 1783. You blind | guides, who | must needs | lead eyes | that see | 

01 10011101 

bacchius, ionic a minore, cretic (^ — | ^^^ — | -^-). 

VI. 1083. — Some paces thence 

An inn I stands ; cross | to it ; | I shall | be there | 

01 1 1 0010 01 

bacchius, dactyl, choriamb (^ — | -^^^ \ -v^v--). 

The extreme harshness of many of these lines is almost a 
match for anything in Surrey, only what in Surrey is helpless- 
ness seems the perversity of strength in Browning. The nearest 
approach to it in any modern verse is, I think, to be found in 
Aurora Leigh. The quotations are from the 2nd edition, 1857. 

p. 16. Partic|ular worth | and gen|eral missjionariness 

0100 1 100 1 001 

(The 3rd syllable in the last word is slurred.) 



MODERN BLANK VERSE. 217 

p. 25. As a I soul from | the bod|y, out | of doors I 

102 1010 1 

p. 27. You clap | hands — ' a | fair day ' — | you cheer | him on I 

12 1 021 01 01 

p. 29. — mount 

Step by I step. Sight | goes fastler ; that | still ray | 

101 2 010 1 11 

Goes straight — 

But though the Aristophanic vein in Browning is continually 
tempting him to trample under foot the dignity of verse and to 
shock the uninitiated reader by colloquial familiarities, "thumps 
upon the back," such as the poet Cowper resented ; yet no one 
can be more impressive than he is, when he surrenders himself 
to the pure spirit of poetry, and flows onwards in a stream of 
glorious music, such as that in which Balaustion pictures Athens 
overwhelmed by an advance of the sea (Aristophanes' Apology, 
p. 2). 

What if thy watery plural vastitude, 

Rolling unanimous advance, had rushed, 

Might upon might, a moment, — stood, one stare, 

Sea-face to city-face, thy glaucous wave 

Glassing that marbled last magnificence, — 

Till fate's pale tremulous foam-flower tipped the grey. 

And when wave broke and overswarmed and, sucked 

To bounds back, multitudinously ceased, 

And land again breathed unconfused with sea, 

Attike was, Athenai was not now ! 

And a little below on the hope of immortality : 

Why should despair be? Since, distinct above 
Man's wickedness and folly, flies the wind 
And floats the cloud, free transport for our soul 
Out of its fleshly durance dim and low, — 
Since disembodied soul anticipates 
(Thought-borne as now, in rapturous unrestraint) 
Above all crowding, crystal silentness. 
Above all noise, a silver solitude : — 
* * * * 

O nothing doubt, Philemon ! Greed and strife, 
Hatred and cark and care, what place have they 
In yon blue liberality of heaven I 

I hardly know whether it is fancy or not, but to me there is 
no poetry which has such an instantaneous solemnizing power 



218 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

as that of Browning. We seem to be in the company of some 
rough rollicking Silenus, and all of a sudden the spirit descends 
upon him, the tone of his voice changes, and he pours out 
strains of sublimest prophecy. To use his own figure, a sudden 
breeze disperses the smoky haze of the crowded city, and in 
a moment we are conscious of the ' crystal silentness ' of snow- 
crowned Alps towering over our heads. I will close with the 
concluding lines of a poem which has always seemed to me 
to have this effect in a remarkable degree, The strange expe- 
rience of Karshish, the Arab physician. 

The very God ! think Abib ; dost thou think ? 

So the All-great were the All-loving too, 

So, through the thunder, comes a human voice 

Saying, ' heart I made, a heart beats here : 

Face, My hands fashioned, see it in Myself. 

Thou hast no power, nor may'st conceive of Mine ; 

But love I gave thee, with Myself to love. 

And thou must love Me, who have died for thee.' 



CHAPTER XIV. 

SHELLEY'S METRE'. 

Whatever may be our views on the substance of some of 
Shelley's poetry — and I confess that I am sometimes tempted 
to characterize it by his own line 

' Pinnacled dim in the intense inane ' — 

still I think we must all recognize in him one who had a 
natural gift of melody such as is hardly to be found in any 
other English poet, and a boldness and originality in rhythmical 
experiments, which makes his versification a very interesting 
field for metrical study. 

I propose therefore, in the present paper, to classify the 
various metres he has employed ; to point out any peculiarities 
in his way of using them, the licenses he allows himself in 
diverging from the normal line, and finally to make some 
observations on what constitutes the beauty and appropriate- 
ness of his melody. 

We have seen that the great majority, at any rate, of 
English metres can be explained by the assumption of the 
ascending and descending disyllabic, commonly known as iamb 
and trochee, and the ascending and descending trisyllabic, 
commonly known as anapaest and dactyl. The typical or 
standard line of each pure metre consists of so many perfectly 
regular feet with a marked pause at the end of the line, but 
with no other pause, at least none of such a nature as to 
clash with the metre by dividing the feet. Since a series of 
such typical lines would be found intolerably monotonous, the 

^ Read before the now defunct Shelley Society. 



220 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

skill of the versifier is shewn by the manner in which he 
reconciles freedom with law — i.e., by the amount of variety he 
is able to introduce without destroying the general rhythmical 
effect. This result is produced (1) by dropping the final pause 
and introducing other pauses within the line, so as at times 
quite to overpower the regular metrical flow ; (2) by the 
insertion of extra-metrical syllables at the end or beginning, 
or in the interior of the line; (3) by truncation — i.e., by 
dropping unaccented metrical syllables at the end or beginning 
or in the interior of the line ; (4) by changing the number of 
syllables in the foot, giving trisyllabic for disyllabic feet and 
vice versd ; (5) by changing the position of the accent in the 
foot, making it ascend instead of descend, and vice versd ; (6) 
by adding to, or diminishing from the regular number of 
accents — e.g., by substituting spondee or pyrrhic for iamb. 

Before dealing with Shelley's verse, I must add a caution 
as to the condition in which it has come down to us. There 
is no difficulty in testing Tennyson's verse, because he is evi- 
dently attentive even to the smallest details, and we may 
accept his printed poems as representing exactly what the 
poet intended ; we are not at liberty to explain away an 
apparent difficulty or awkwardness by ascribing it to a blunder 
of the printer. But with Shelley it is just the reverse. The 
poet wrote at headlong speed and with much inaccuracy. 
As Mr Forman says (Pref. p. xxxii.), " he was often too 
completely absorbed in the glorious substance of his poetry 
to give any attention to subordinate points of form " : 
" although his lines are never unrhythmical, the rhyme is 
often defective and sometimes the metre as well " : p. xi. " un- 
fortunately he did not revise, while at press, more than one 
half the entire bulk of his poetry." " The largest of the 
volumes seen through the press by himself is infamously 
printed " : p. xv. " the current texts of Shelley are very 
corrupt." Again, in p. xxii. he speaks of " the extremely 
confused state of Shelley's MS. note-books and the difficulty 
of deciphering and connecting their contents." Shelley him- 
self owns to his carelessness in the preface to the Revolt of 
Islam, where he says, " I must request my readers to regard 



Shelley's metre. 221 

as an erratum the occurrence of an Alexandrine in the middle 
of one stanza." In his search for this line, Mr Forman came 
across two such Alexandrines, and also discovered three in- 
stances of seven-foot ballad lines in place of Alexandrines, 
one stanza which had no Alexandrine, and one stanza of ten 
lines instead of nine, not to mention peculiarities of rhyming 
of which I shall speak further on. Some negligences have 
been corrected by the latest editors from a further examination 
of Shelley's own MSS., some have been happily emended, but 
there are many which still need correction. 

I proceed now to a general survey of Shelley's metres, 
beginning with the iambic. I use Moxon's one volume edition 
of 18.53, but have consulted the editions of Forman and 
Rossetti. The iambic line of one foot only occurs in stanzas 
consisting of lines of various lengths, as in The Magnetic Lady 
(p. 605), 

And brood on thee, but may not blend 
With thine. 

Similarly the two-foot iambic occurs in stanzas mixed with 
longer lines as in Mutability (p. 588) : — 

To-mor|row dies | 

The three-foot is of more frequent use, especially in alter- 
nation with four-foot, as in the chorus from Hellas: — 

The world's great age begins anew 
The golden years return. 

The four-foot line is the first which constitutes whole poems, 
both continuous, as Rosalind and Helen (which admits frequent 
trochaic or anapaestic substitution and interchanges four with 
three and five feet), Ariel to Miranda, etc.; and discontinuous 
or stanzaic, as in Marianne's Dream (stanzas varying from 
six to eight lines), p. 380, When passions trance (five-line st.), 
p. 600, Mine eyes were dim (six-line st.), p. 584. 

The five-foot is of course the metre most largely employed 
by Shelley, whether in continuous (blank or rhymed) or 
stanzaic poems. Of blank verse there are three varieties : 
Epic, to which Alastor and Queen Mab may be referred ; Tragic, 



222 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

as in The Cenci and Prometheus ; and Comic or Burlesque, as in 
Swellfoot the Tyrant and The Cyclops. The continuous rhyming 
five-foot was used by Shelley in some of his greatest poems, 
Julian and Maddalo, Epipsychidion, Mont Blanc, Letter to 
Maria Gishorne, Ginevra, etc. Of the discontinuous or stanzaic 
five-foot we may distinguish the following kinds : (a) the Terza 
Rima, examples of which are Prince Athanase, The Woodman 
and Nightingale, Ode to the West Wind, and Triumph of Life ; 
(6) the four-line stanza, of which the earlier Mutability (p. 360) 
is an instance ; (c) six-line stanza, Marevghi (p. 444), Hymn 
of Apollo (p. 516), Evening (p. o86); (d) eight-line stanza. 
Witch of Atlas (p. 529), Zucca (p. 603), Hymn to Mercury 
(p. 645), etc. ; (e) fourteen-lines (sonnet). 

We have also stanzas of five- and six-foot mixed ; the most 
important being the Spenserian of nine lines, the last line alone 
containing six feet. To this belong The Revolt of Islam and 
Adonais. Another of six lines has six feet in the fourth line, 
five feet elsewhere {Lechlade, p. 359). 

We find seven-foot iambic in a chorus of the Prometheus, 
p. 204 :— 

I sped I like some | swift cloud | that wings || the wide | air's wiljder- 
nes(ses. 

This naturally divides after the fourth foot, giving the effect 
of two short lines. 

Also in Stanzas, p. 363 : — 

Thy lover's eye so glazed and cold || dares not entreat thy stay. 

I postpone the consideration of the more complex iambic 
stanzas, and go on now to classify Shelley's trochaic measures. 
By far the most common of these is the truncated four-foot, 
in which the Euganean Hills (p. 415) is written. This is 
continuous. Examples of stanzaic are Men of England, four- 
line St. (p. 481), Music when soft voices die (p. 583), (and for 
the most part) The Masque of Anarchy (p. 446). We have 
a five-line stanza in Misery ; a six-line stanza of the complete 
trochaic in a chorus of Prometheus (p, 220) : — 

Life of I Life ! thy | lips en|kindle | 
With their I love the I breath be|tween them | 



Shelley's metre. 223 

Truncated six-line is found in A Dirge (p. 602) : — 
Orphan | hours the | year is | dead a 

The Ode to Heaven (p. 484) is written in a nine-line stanza. 

Two-foot trochaic is found rarely and only as a refrain in 
poems written in longer metres — e.g., in the Prometheus (p. 210) 
we find a four-line stanza of three feet, alternating complete 
and truncated, followed by two-foot refrain : — 

In the I world un| known A 

Sleeps a | voice un|spoken | 
By thy j step a|lone A 

Can its | rest be | broken | 
Child of I Ocean | 

A mixture of four and three feet is found in the World's 
Wanderers (four-line st. of 4.4.4.3), and in Rarely, rarely 
contest thou (a six-line st. of 4.3.4.3.4.4). 

The anapaestic metre is I think that which is most 
characteristic of Shelley. Here too the four-foot is far the 
most common. It is continuous in a Vision of the Sea (p. 498), 
On the Serchio (p. 594); discontinuous in The Sensitive Plant 
(p. 490), four-line st. Also in Death (p. 360) and Music (p. 600), 
both six-line st. 

The four-foot is the only unmixed form of the anapaest 
used by Shelley. The Fugitives (p. 582) is written in five- 
line St., the first four lines containing two feet, the last one : 
The keen stars were twinkling (p. 637) is in stanzas of four 
triplets, each triplet containing feminine two-foot, feminine 
three-foot, and masculine one-foot, e.g. : — 

No leaf I will be sha(ken 
Whilst the dews | of your meljody scat(ter 
Delight 

Combinations of three-foot and two-foot are found in Are- 
thusa (p. 514), When the lamp is shattered (p. 606), One word 
is too often profaned (p. 599). Combinations of four-foot, 
three-foot, two-foot in the Ode on Liberty (p. 483), The Cloud 
(p. 502), also in Pan (p. 517). 



224 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Combinations of four-foot and two- foot are found in The 
Two Spirits (p. 519) ; To-night (p. 580), which is also afifected 
by internal truncation ; Enchantress, an unfinished drama 
(p. 609). In Autumn (p. 549) we have a combination of 4.2.1. 

The most striking of the Mixed metres is The Skylark 
(p. 504), a five-line stanza, the first four lines being three- 
foot trochaic, either masculine or feminine, and the fifth line 
an Alexandrine masc. or fem. 

Similes (p. 482) is written in a five-line stanza ; the three 
first stanzas are four-foot trochaic truncated, the fourth and 
last stanza iambic four-foot. 

Trochaic passes into iambic and anapaestic in The Four 
Voices of Prom. Act i. (p. 189), also in Loves Philosophy 
(p. 507). 

Iambic and anapaestic are mixed in the very irregular 
stanzas beginning, " Away, the moor is dark " (p. 363), in 
Gonstantia (p. 384), in Lines from the Arabic (p. 579), A 
Dirge (p. 622), An Indian Air (p. 599). In The Death of 
Napoleon (p. 587) the first six lines of the eight-line stanza 
are anapaestic, the last two iambic. 

I now proceed to examine the licenses to be found in 
Shelley's use of these metres, and we will begin (a) with 
the variety produced by his use of the pause, and (a) with 
the omission of the final pause. Even Dr Guest would not 
insist on an actual stop at the end of the line, so I will merely 
give instances of Enjambement, which we may classify as 
follows : — 

(1) Cases where the end of the line separates the object 
noun or the subordinate verb from the governing verb. 

Prom. p. 208: 

Oh lift 
- Thine eyes, that I may see his written soul. 
Cenci, p. 269 : 

I know you are my friend, and all I dare 
>- Speak to my soul, that will I trust with thee. 

But this is not confined to dramatic metres, where we 



SHELLEY'S METRE. 225 

naturally look for more freedom. It is frequent also in 
stanzaic metre — e.g., The Triumph of Life. 

Azure plumes of Iris had 
^ Built high I over | her wind-|wingfed | pavil(ion 

[So I think we must divide, in order to keep the rhyme with 
the preceding " vermilion." Otherwise I should have been 
disposed to make " pavilion " a trisyllable with the stress on 
the first syllable.] 

Zv^a, p. 604 : 

I bore it to a chamber and I planted 
" It in a vase full of the lightest mould. 

Sometimes we find this close connexion between two dis- 
tinct stanzas, as in Liberty (p. 513), where st. 18 ends — 

The solemn harmony 

the verb coming in st. 19 — 

- Paused. 

Mercury (p. 652), where st. 40 ends 

Not less her subtle swindling baby, who 
and 41 begins — 

- Lay swathed in his sly smile. 

So in Triumph, p. 634 : 

(The new vision) 

With solemn speed and stunning music crost 

- The forest 

We may compare with this the coupling of the end of 
one paragraph with the beginning of another by means of 
rhyme, as in p. 556, air — dare, and often. 

(2) Preposition separated from its case. 

Prom. p. 238 : 

Two visions of strange radiance float upon 

- The ocean-like enchantment of strong sound. 

Cenci, p. 268 : 

I have presented it and backed it with 

-'My earnest prayers and urgent interest. 
p. 289 : It sleeps over 

-A thousand daily acts disgracing men. 

M. M. 15 



226 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

p. 290: I break upon your rest. I must speak with 

- Count Cenci. 

p. 291 : Bernar|do, conduct | you the | Loixl Legate to 

- Your father's chamber. 
Alastor, p. 60: 

(The parasites) 

Starred with ten thousand blossoms flow around 
•>- The grey trunks. 

(3) Adjective or pronoun from its noun. 

Hellas, p. 331 : 

The roar of giant cannon, the earth-quaking 
^ Fall of vast bastions and precipitous towers. 
Triumph of L. p. 634 : 

Some upon the new 

- Embroidery of flowers that did enhance 

- The grassy vesture of the desert, played. 

Adonais, p. 571 : 

A drear 
-' Murmur between their songs is all the woodmen hear, 
p. 632 : She gli|ded along | the riv|er and | did bend (her 

- Head under the dark boughs. 

So even in the purest lyric poetry, as Skylark — 

Soothing her love-laden 

- Soul, in secret hour. 

(4) Genitive fro7)i governing case. 

Prom. p. 227 : 

And the | life-kind|ling shafts j of the I keen sun's 

10 12 

^All-piercing bow. 
Triumph, p. 636 : 

The ac|tion and | the shape | without | the grace 

- Of life. 

(5) Line ends with conjunction. 

Cenci, p. 280: 

I see Orsino has talked with you, and 

- That you conjecture things too horrible. 

(6) Division between qualifying adverb and word qualified. 

Julian, p. 426 : 

We are even 
•^ Now at the point I meant, said Maddalo. 



Shelley's metre, 227 

Triumph, p. 636 : 

Others more 
- Humble, like falcons, sat upon the fist. 

Islam, p. 170: 

An atmosphere which quite 

-Arrayed | her in | its beams, | tremulous | and soft | and bright. 

(6) As we find the chief normal pause disregarded, so 
we find strong pauses intruded within the feet in such a 
manner as quite to break the normal rhythm. Thus in the 
middle of the first foot — 

Prom. p. 201 : 

A Worse things unheard, unseen, remain behind. 
B Worse ? 

A In I each hu|man heart | terror | survives | 

Alastor, p. 64 : 

Not a star 

- Shone, not a sound was heard ; the very winds, 
Danger's grim playmates, on that precipice 

- Slept, clasped in his embrace. 
Prom. p. 190 : 

I feel 
-Faint, like one mingled in entwining love, 
p. 198 : Cruel was the power which called 

- You, or I aught else | so wretched into light. 

p, 204 : Beholdst thou not two shapes | from the east | and west | 

- Come, as two doves to one beloved nest. 
p. 216: On the race of men 

First famine and then toil and then disease. 

Strife, wounds and ghastly death unseen before 

Fell. 
p. 223 : Even as a vulture and a snake outspent 

Drop, twisted in inextricable fight. 
p. 224 : The ponderous hail 

Beats on his struggling form, which sinks at length 

Prone, 
p. 230: Well, my path lately lay through a great city, 

W. of Atlas, Tp. 529: 

Her hair 

- Dark, the | dim brain | whirls dizzy with delight. 
Liberty, p. 507 : 

(Liberty) 

Scattering contagious fire into the sky, 

- Gleamed. 

15—2 



228 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Hellas, p. 331 : 

Earth and ocean, 
Space, and the isles of life or light that gem. 

Cenci, p. 308 : 

Dead ! The | sweet bond | broken. They come ! Let me 
- Kiss those warm lips. 

Stop in the middle of the second foot. 

Epipsych. p. 558 : 

Then I | 'Where?' The | world's e|cho anajwered 'Where 1' 
p. 555 : Stains the | dead, blank, | cold air \ with a | warm shade | 

Julian, p. 432 : making moments he 

As mine | seem — each | an im|mortal|ity | . 
p. 427: "We aspire, 

How vainlly! to | be strong," | said Mad|dalo | . 
Prom. p. 219: The coursers fly 

Terrijfied; watch | its course | among | the stars ( . 
Cenci, p. 307 : You do | well, teliling me | to trust | in God | . 

p. 278: Or I | will — God | can uniderstand | and par(don. 
Triumph, p. 630 ; Of peo|ple, and my | heart sick I of one I sad thought I 

001 12 11 1 

Similarly in four-foot iambic — 

p. 407: A sweet | sleep: so | we trav jelled on | 

Stop in the middle of third foot. 

p. 425 : Meanwhile | the sun | paused, ere | it should | alight 
Over the horizon of the mountains 

p. 278 : Give us | clothes, fa|ther. Give I us bet|ter food | . 

p. 279: My wrongs | were then | less. That j word parjricide | , 
Although I am resolved, haunts me like fear. 

p. 301 : Between | the sly, | fierce, wild | regard | of guilt | 

p. 272 : Thou art | Lucre|tia : I j am Belatrice. 

p. 262 : Who art | a tor|turer ! Fa|ther nev|er dream | 

[Here the pause comes after the two short syllables of 
an anapaest substituted for the third iambic] 

p. 257 : To whom ] I owe | life, and | these virjtuous thoughts | . 
p. 628 : Were or j had been I eyes : — if I thou canst, I forbear I 

2 1 

p. 631 : Of the I yoimg year's I dawn, I I was laid | asleep I 
1111 



Shelley's metre. 229 

Stop in the middle of fourth foot. 

p. 277: How! have | you ven|tured thith|er? Know | you them? 1 
p. 280: On whose edge 

Devour|ing dark|ness hovjers. Thou | small flame | 
p. 304 : Would that thou hadst been 

Cut out I and thrown | to dogs | first ! To | have killed | 

My father 

p. 308 : Blind lightlning or | the deaf | sea ; not | with man. | 
Islam, p. 161 : 

An angel bright as day waving a brand, 

Which flashed | among | the stars, | passed. "Dost | thou 
stand I 

Parleying with me, thou wretch," the king replied. 

Stop in the middle of the last foot. 

p. 307 : How te|dious, false | and cold | seem all | things ! I | 
Have met with much injustice in this world. 
Prom. p. 223 : 

No pitl}', no I relief, | no res|pite ! Oh | 

That thou wouldst make my enemy my judge. 

p. 213 : (A howl) 

Satiates | the lisltening wind, | contin|uous, vast, | 
Awful, as silence. 

[Here the pause comes after the two short syllables of an 
anapaest substituted for fifth foot.] 

(b) I take next the in-egularity arising from the addition 
of extra-metrical syllables, and first at the end of the line, 
the feminine rhythm. In Orsino's soliloquy (p. 258) it is 
found in twelve out of twenty-seven lines. This is common 
in all metres which properly end in an accented syllable, as 
in four-foot iambic. 

A brightjer Heljlas rears | its moim(tains. 
Feminine rhythm is also found in anapaestic metres, as — 
Fourfoot — 

Over earth | and o|cean with genltle mo(tion. 

Three-foot — 

And laugh | as I pass | in thun(der. 

The less usual forms are (a) when the superfluous syllable 



230 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

IS a separate word, ordinarily a pronoun, as it, me, us, you, 
him, them, her ; also not, as in The Cenci (p. 254) : — 

It is a public matter, and I care (not 
art, as in The Cend (p. 304) : — 

To me or mine; and what a tyrant thou (art. 
too, as in Faust (p. 701) : — 

My pathos certainly would make you laugh (too. 

(6) when there are two superfluous syllables instead of 
one, as 

Cenci, p. 266 : 

Nor that young imp, whom ye have taught by rote, 

Parri|cide with | his aljphabet, | nor Gia(como. 
p. 289: 

But I I was boljder, for | I chid | 01ymp(io. 
p. 294 : 

Will Giajcomo be | there ? Orsino 1 Mar(zio ? 
Fatist, p. 711: 

Until I some leech | diverted with | his grav(ity. 
Swellfoot, p. 353 : 

This maglnanimjity in | your sajcred maj(esty. 
Cyclops, p. 679 : 

By Jove | you are. | I bore | you off | from Dar(danus. 

(c) In Shakespeare we sometimes find a superfluous 
syllable in the middle of the line. Are we to admit these 
superfluous syllables in Shelley ? Take a line such as that 
in The Cenci (p. 301):— 

To rend and ruin. What say ye now, my Lords? 

Here the line is divided between two speakers, and it 
might be thought that the pause must prevent the superfluous 
syllable of the former half being joined with the syllables 
which follow, so as to make up an anapaestic foot. But we 
have seen that Shelley has no objection to divide the foot 
by a full stop, and in A Vision of the Sea (p. 498) we 
frequently find the first syllable of the anapaest thus separated 
from the other syllables — e.g. — 

'Tis the ter|ror of temjpest. The rays | of the soul | . 
Leave the wind | to its ech|o. The ves|sel now tossed | 



Shelley's metre. 231 

In fact out of thirty-one internal full stops (i.e. stops not 
at the end of the line) I find that seventeen follow the first 
syllable of an anapaest, five the second syllable, and nine only 
come at the end of the foot. 

The strongest case for the extra syllable at the hemistich 
is in the irregular stanzas beginning " Away ! the moor is 
dark " (p. 363), of which I shall speak further on. 

(d) The superfluous syllable may appear at the beginning 
of the line in metres which have the stress oq the first syllable 
of the foot — viz., trochaic and dactylic. I find no proper 
dactylic metre in Shelley, but the anacrusis is very common 
in his four-foot trochaics, just as initial truncation is in his • 
four-foot iambics. Perhaps it is to break the monotony of 
the " butterwoman's rate to market," that from the time of 
Shakespeare and Milton it has been customary to allow these 
liberties in disyllabic measures of four feet. Thus the Euga- 
nean Hills has thirty-seven lines beginning with superfluous 
syllables out of a total of 373 — i.e., one-tenth. Three of these 
thirty-seven have two superfluous syllables, giving the appear- 
ance of an anapaestic line, as 

Of the) olive-sandalled Apennine, 

where the omission of the first two syllables restores the 
regular truncated four-foot trochaic. In the other examples 
one additional syllable gives the effect of a four-foot iambic, as 

Ay) many flowering islands lie. 

So also in three-foot, as the Skylark, after 

Chorus I hymen |eal | 
we have 

What) objects | are the | fountains | 

(c) We go on next to consider the license of truncation. 
This occurs at the end of metres which end in an unaccented 
syllable, and at the beginning of those which begin with an 
unaccented syllable. Thus the alternate trochaic lines in the 



232 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Ode to a Skylark are generally complete, but we have inter- 
mixed with them 

All the I earth is | bare A 
Teach us | sprite or | bird A 

On the other hand the anapaestic line not only continually 
substitutes an iamb for an anapaest, thus dropping one of 
its unaccented syllables, but at the beginning of the line it 
may drop both — e.g. : — 

A Leaps | on the back | of my sai|ling rack | 

which is just as legitimate as 

May have bro|ken the woof | of my tent's | thin roof | 

So in two-foot anapaest (p. 233) — 

ASpecjtres we | 
Of the dead | hours be | 

And so the four- foot iambic. Of ninety lines in the Ariel 
to Miranda one-third suffer initial truncation. In Rosalind 
and Helen the proportion is about one-twentieth. This is 
found also in mixed metres, as The Magnetic Lady, which 
begins — 

A Sleep I sleep on | forget thy | pain | 
My hand is on thy brow. 

In The Ode to Naples (p. 545) — 

Of some I ether|eal host | 
A Whilst I from all I the coast | 

Perhaps the stanzas to Night should be regarded as on the 
whole anapaestic, but in any case many of the lines are iambic, 
among which we find truncated two-foot. 

A Star-|iiiwrought. 
AWouldst I thou me. 

Besides this initial truncation, we also meet with medial 
truncation in some of the more irregular poems — e.g., the 
one just cited, p. 580 — 

Thy broth|er Death | Acanae | and cried | 



Shelley's metre. 233 

which corresponds to ' - 

Thy sweet | child Sleep, | the fil|nQy-eyed ] 
p. 466 : So good | and bad | A sane | and mad | 
p. 194: Wail, howl | aloud | A Land | and Sea | 

The Earth's | rent heart | shall ansjwer ye | 
p. 393: A Day | and night | A day j and night | 

So in the trochaic Dirge (p. 602) — 

Come and | sigh A | come and | weep A 
which corresponds to 

For the | year is | but a|sleepA 

(d) It might be considered an extension of this principle, 
of the insertion or omission of extra-metrical syllables, when 
Shelley gives in one line a whole foot more, or less, than is 
required by the metre as shewn in the rest of the poem; 
but it is perhaps more convenient to defer this for the present, 
and proceed to the variety caused by increasing or diminishing 
the number of unaccented syllables within the foot — e.g., by 
substituting anapaest for iamb, or iamb for anapaest. I find 
that in five -foot iambic this change takes place rarely in the 
first foot and most frequently in the fifth foot, the numbers 
being, out of 165 cases noted, nine in first, thirty-eight in 
second, forty-three in third, twenty in fourth, and fifty-five 
in fifth foot. I give the following examples : — 

First foot. 
Prom. p. 192 : 

Of a faljlen pal|ace. Moth|er let | not aught | 

1 

p. 220 : The inan|imate winds | enam|oured of | thee 1 List | 

10 1 

Second foot. 
p. 224: Prone. And | the aejreal ice | clings o;ver it | 

2 01 00 1 11 

Alastor, p. 55 : 

That beau|tiful shape. | Does the | dark gate | of death | 

1 1 1 1 

p. 62 : And mulsical moltions. Calm I he still | pursued | 

1 

p. 438: Aspi|ring like one | who loves | too fair | too far'j 

1 

p. 298 : As merjciful God I spares e|ven the damned. | Speak now | 

1 1 



234 ON ENGLISH METRB. 

Third foot 
Cenciy p. 307 : 

I am I cut oflf I from the on|ly world | I know | 

1 

Alastor, p. 68 : 

Of 0|cean's moun[tainous waste I to mu|tual war I 

1 1 

Cenci, p. 278 : 

Under | the pen jury heaped | on me | by thee [ 

1 

Fourth foot. 
Prom. 205 : 

Or sink 1 into | the origlinal gulf | of things | 

10 1 

Fifth foot. 

Cenci, p. 265 : 

Then it | was I | whose in!artic|ulate words | 

1 

p. 267 : Is penjetra|ted with I the injsoleut light | 

1 

From thrice|-driven beds | of down | and del|icate food | 

1 1 

A lastor, p. 55 : 

The elloquent blood | told an | inef jfable tale | 

00 1 10 001 

Cenci, p. 277 : 

You hear | but see | not an | impet|uous tor(rent. 

1 

So in the four-foot iambic 

p. 211 : Sick with | sweet love | droops, dy|ing away ] 

1 

The converse (anapaest into iamb) is still more common. 
Indeed, anapaestic lines usually have one or more iambs. Thus 
in the four feet of The Sensitive Plant two are generally 
iambs — e.g. — 

A sen|sitive plant | in a gar|den grew | 

sometimes three — e.g. — 

The snow|drop and then | the vijolet | 

1 

or even four — e.g. — 

Into I the rough | woods far | aloof | 
Make her | atten|dant an]gels be | 

and so in The Cloud — 

Whom moritals call | the moon | 



Shelley's metre. 235 

contrasted with 

While I sleep | in the arms | of the blast | 

As iamb spreads into anapaest, so trochee into dactyl — 
e.g., the Euganean Hills. 

Many a | green isle | needs must | be A 

10 

Or the I mariner | worn and | wan A 

10 

p. 447 : Like a bad | prayer not | overjloud A 

10 

"Whispering | thou art | Law and | God A 

10 

p. 454 : Echoing | from the | cave of | fame A 

10 

Those who a|lone thy | towers be|holdA 

1 

On the I beach of a | northern | sea A 

1 

Many] -domed | Padua | proud A 

10 

p. 198 : Tt will | burst in | bloodier | flashes ] 

10 

p. 447 : Of the | triumph of | anarjchy A 

10 

p. 200 : Drops of | bloody | agony | flow A 

10 

(e) The next variety is that produced by inversion of 
accent, giving iamb for trochee, etc. All metrists allow that 
the trochee may take the place of the iamb in the first foot 
of blank verse, but it is strange how they object to it else- 
where. Shelley uses it in any part of the line ; and even has 
two trochees together. I will give examples of all positions 
but the first. 

Second foot. 

Question, p. 618 : 

And wild | roses | and ijvy ser|pentine | 

1 



Prom. p. 242 : 

p. 240: And weed|-over|grown con|tinent8 | of earth | 



The unlquiet jrepubllic of I the maze 

10 



[In these two the trochee forms part of the same word 
with the preceding syllable.] -. 



236 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Alastor, p. 52 : 

When night I makes a I weird sound I of its I own stillness 

10 1 1 

The lone | couch of | his ev|erlas|ting sleep | 

1 

p. 58: With fierce | gusts and | precip|ita|ting force | 

2 

p. 65 : With bright | flowers, and | the win|try boughs | exhale | 

1 

p. 60 : The grey | trunks, and | as game|some in|fants' eyes | 

2 

Prom. p. 200: 

And beasts | hear the | sea moan I in injland caves I 

10 2 2 

Cenci, p. 300 : 

And art | thou the | acculser? If thou ho(pest 

2 

p. 258 : In all j this there | is much exag|gera(tion. 

1 

Third foot. 
p. 264: Until I this hour | thus you I have evler stood | 

1 

p. 266 : Whom in | one night | merci|ful God | cut off | 

1 

p. 268: I who | have white | hairs, and j a totltering bo(dy 

10 1 

Will keep | at least | blameless | neutraljity. | 

1 

p. 269 : 1 am | as one | lost in | a mid| night wood | 

1 

p. 273 : Is like I a ghost | shrouded I and follded up | 

1 

p. 274: For thy | decree | yawns like | a hell | between \ 

2 

p. 275: To — why I his late | outrage | to Be|atrice | 

2 

p. 308 : Dead ! The | sweet bond | broken | . They come 1 . Let me | 

2 11 2 

p. 309 : Be as I a mark | stamped on | thine injnocent brow | 

2 1 

p. 56 : Beneath | the cold I glare of | the des|olate night | 

2 1 

p. 554 : Young Love | should teach | Time in j his own j grey style | 

10 11 

p. 632 : Out of j the deep | cavern | with palms | so ten(der 

1 

Also in the four-foot line — 
p. 388 : A sound | from thee | Rosajlind dear | 



Fourth foot. 



p. 244: Which points I into I the heavens I dreaming | delight 

1 



Shelley's metre. 237 

p* 277: Are now I no more I as once I parent I and child | 

1 

p. 279 : Although | I am | resolved, | haunts me | like fear | 

2 

p. 280: Which as | a dy|ing pulse | rises | and falls | 

2 

It is I the soul I by which | mine was | arrayed I 

1 

p. 284: Of pub|lic scorn | for acts | blazoned | abroad | 

p. 304 : Cut out I and thrown | to dogs I first. To I have killed I 

10 

p. 309: And let I mild pit|ying thoughts | lighten I for thee I 

1 

Famt, p. 711 : 

Unheard | of. Then I leave oflf | teasing I us so I 

2 

Alastor, p. 51 : 

Of starlry ice; I the grey | grass and | bare boughs I 

10 11 

Prom. p. 187 : 

Ah me I alas I Pain, pain | ever | for ev(er 

2 2 2 

p. 196 : With bitlter stings | the light | sleep of | revenge | 

1 

p. 240: Which whirl | as the | orb whirls | swifter | than thought | 

1 1 2 

Fifth foot (this is naturally the rarest), 

p. 190: I break | upon | your rest | I must | speak with | 

Count Cenci. 
p. 279: What out|rage? That \ she speaks | not, but | you may | 

2 1 

Conceive | such half | conjec|tures as | I do | 
From her fixed paleness — 

p. 278 : I will — | rever'sing najture's law I — Trust me, I 

2 1 

The com|pensa|tion which | thou seek|est here | 
Will be I denied | 
p. 544 : And heard | the autum|nal winds | like light I footfalls | 

2 1 

p. 260: Check the | aban|doned viljlain. For I God's sake I 

2 1 

I now give examples of two or more trochees in the same 
line. 

p. 300: If thou I hast done | murders | made thy | life's path I 

2 10 11 

p. 201 : Worse? in | each hu|man heart | terror | survives I 

2 2 

p. 217 : Godlike, I o'er the | clear billlows of I sweet sound I 

10 10 1100 1 1 

p. 428: Of those | on a | sudden | who were | beguiled") 

10 10 



238 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

[but here I am inclined to think that who has got out of 
its place and should come after those. It is certainly a 
harsher line than that which Rossetti would emend by trans- 
posing 'plumes' and 'feathers': 

p. 230: Its plumes | are as | feathers | of 8un|ny frost | 

Another instance of the same kind occurs in p. 265, where 
a verse might be eked out with a double trochee — 

Fell from | my lips, | who with | totter|ing steps | 

but I think the line gains greatly in vigour if we insert / 
before ' who.'] 

Mt Blanc, p. 367 : 

Over I its rocks I ceaseless|ly bursts j and raves I 

10 10 

Idherty, p. 508 : 

The sis|ter-pest, j congre|gator | of slaves | 

2 10 

Islam, p. 171 : 

Not death | — death was | no more | refuge I or rest I 

2 10 

Epips. p. 561 : 

Light it I into | the winjter of | the tomb | 

10 10 

p. 565 : Harmolnizing | silence | without | a sound | 

2 10 10 

p. 424 : Harmojnizing I with sollitude | and sent | 

2 10 

p. 64: In thy I devas|tating I omnilpotence I 

2 10 

p. 632 : And as | I looked 1 the bright ( omnijpresence I 

10 10 

p. 555 : — one intense 

Diffu|sion, one | divine | omni|presence | 

[I have put these five together, as it is possible that 
Shelley may have intended to alter the usual pronunciation 
of the quadrisyllables, laying the stress in the second syllable 
of omnipresence, devastating, and perhaps on the last of har- 
monizing.'] 
Cyclops, p. 666 : 

And so j we sought I you king. I We were I sailing I 

10 10 

[Rossetti would insert ' then ' after ' we.'] 

Calderon, p. 687 : 

God is I one su|preme es|sence, one | pure e8(sence 

202011 11 



Shelley's metre. 239 

p. 698: Only I by not | owning | thyself | subdued | 

10 10 

Faust, p. 705 : 

Here the I light burns | soft as | the enkind|led air I 

10 1 1 10001 

p. 710: So is I the world I drained to | the dregs. | Look here I 

10 10 11 

It will be noticed that several of these are parallels to 
Milton's line which has been so fiercely attacked — 

Uni|versal I reproach I far worse I to bear | 

10 10 

I go on now to give examples of inversion of accent in 
the trochaic line, not only in the first foot, as in — 

The blue | deep thou | wingest | 

12 

p. 481 : The forced I produce I of your | toil A 

1 

p. 447: The hired | murderers I who did | sing A 

1 

p. 454 : The old | laws of | England | they A 

1 

p. 455 : Will point I at them I as they | stand A 

1 

Shall steam I up like I inspilration I 

1 

p. 415: And sinks I down down I like that I sleep A 

1 11 

To find I refuge I in dis|tressA 

1 

p. 421 : The frail | bark of | this lone | being | 



but also in the second foot as 

p. 450 : 
Prom. p. 194 



p. 450: Casts to | the fat | dogs that | lie A 
1 



Trampling | the slant | winds on | high A 

1 

p. 612: Sit by | the firejside of | sorrow | 

Third foot 
p. 199: Vomits | smoke in | the bright | air A 

1 

p. 451 : Household | dogs when | the wind | roars A 

1 

As far as my memory goes, Shelley was the first to use 
this inversion of the trochee. 

Similarly in anapaestic metre we sometimes find a dactyl 
substituted for an anapaest, as — 



240 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Vision of Sea, p, 501 : 

Tremulous | with soft inlfluence extenldine its tide I 

10 

(f) We have treated separately of the extension of the 
unaccented syllables and the inversion of the accent in the 
foot — but these variations may be combined, as in the use 
of the dactyl for the iamb. Examples of this are — 

In the first foot, where it is most frequent, 
p. 272 : Misery | has killed | its fa|ther, yet | its fa(ther 

10 

p. 292 : Desperatelly fightjing. What | does he I confess i 

10 

p. 628 : Fallen as | Napojleon fell | —I felt I my cheek I 

10 

p. 265 : Flattering | their se|cret peace | with ojther's gain | 

10 

p. 53: Many a I wide waste | and tanjgled willderness I 

10 11 

p, 58 : Following | his ea|ger soul \ the wan|derer I 

10 

p. 188 : Shuddering | through In|dia. Thou I serelnest air | 

10 1 

p. 624 : Numerous | as gnats | upon | the evjening gleam | 

10 

p. 213: Satiates | the list[ening wind | , continluous, vast I 

10 1 



In the second foot (rare). 



p. 58: Of wave | ruining | on wave | and blast [ on blast I 

2 

In the third foot. 
p. 299: That evjer came | sorrowing | upon | the earth | 

10 

p. 544: Aroimd | me gleamed | many a I bright sejpulchre I 

10 

p. 306: And threw I behind | muttering | with hoarse I harsh voice 

10 11 

p. 53 : Of pearl | and thrones | radiant | with chrysjolite I 

10 

p. 522: Instruments | for plans | nautical | and statlical I 

10 10 

p. 629: Frederic | and Paul | Catharine | and Lelopold | 

10 10 

p. 635 : And othfers sat | chattering | like restjless apes I 

10 

p. 557 : Evil | from good | misery | from haplpiness I 

10 



Also in the four-foot line, e.g.- 
p. 409 : You migl 



(And in p. 410) 



p. 409 : You might see | the nerves | quivering I within 

1 10 



SHELLEY'S METRE. 241 



In the fourth foot. 



p. 298: Guards lead | him not | away. | Cardinal I Camil(lo 

10 

p. 213 : And call | truth vir|tue love | genius | or joy | 

10 

p. 631 : Was filled | with ma|gic sounds | woven in|to one | 

10 
p. 364: The broad I and burn|ing moon | lingering! ly rose I 

10 

(g) The last mode of varying the metre which I specified 
was the adding to, or taking from, the number of accents 
in the foot. This, like most of the other licenses which we 
have been considering, has been condemned by Dr Guest and 
other metrists, so that it becomes necessary to give a few 
instances, in order to shew that Shelley at all events practised 
it. It is however so common that the exception is to find 
a line which does not contain feet with either no accent or 
more than one accent. Thus — 

p. 255 : The dry | fixed eye|-ball, the | pale quiv|ering lip | 

110 11 

has two spondees and one pyrrhic, altogether six instead of 
five accents. 

p. 240 : Which whirl | as the | orb whirls | swifter I than thought I 

1001 1 10 1 

one spondee, one trochee, one pyrrhic. 

p. 57 : At parlting and | watch, dim | through tears | the path | 

0100 1 1 101 

one spondee and one pyrrhic. 

p. 200: Of the | good Tijtan as | storms tear | the deep | 

00 1100 1 1 01 

two spondees and two pyrrhics. 
P. 258, after normal line — 

Poor la|dy she \ expects | some hap|py change 

follows — 

In his I dark spirlit from | this act [ , / none | 

00 1100 11 22 

where there are two pyrrhics and three spondees, not a single 

iamb. 

p. 204: Their soft I smiles light I the air I like a I star's fire | 
11 10 11 

two spondees, one trochee. 

M. M. 16 



242 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

p. 302 : And, hold|ing his | breath, died | . There re|main8 noth(ing 

1 1 11 

two spondees, two pyrrhics. 

p. 545: Over I the oraclular woods | and divline sea I 
10 ooiou I oil 

two anapaests, one trochee, one pyrrhic, one spondee, not a 
single iamb. 

Even when there are three syllables to the foot the accent 
is sometimes omitted, making a tribrach, e.g. — 

p. 253 : Bought perjilous | impu|nity with | your gold | 

1 100 0100 1 

p. 254 : Your deslperate and I remorse|less manlhood now I 



p. 273: That faith I no aglony shall I obscure I in me I 

1 1 110 

p. 288 : A dark | contin|uance of | the hell | within (him 



p. 289: And Mar|zio be|cause thou | wast onlly awed I 

1 1 

p. 303 : Are cenlturies of | high splenidour laid | in dust | 



p. 59: With the I breeze mur|muring in | the mu|sical woods I 

1 1000 100 1 

p. 187 : Made mul|titu|dinous with ( thy slaves, | whom thou | 



p. 176 : And like | the ref |luence of | a mighlty wave | 



It is much more rare to find two accents in a trisyllabic 
substitute for an iamb, but the following seem to begin with 
a cretic. 

p. 368 : Pile around | it ice ! and rock, | broad vales I between | 

p. 369 : Slowly rol|ling on | , there man|y a prec|ipice I 

10 1 

The strong rhythm of the anapaest is more capable of 
t)verriding verbal accent and logical emphasis than the more 
flexible iambic, and its character is in consequence less modified 
by any collision between the metrical and the natural stress. 
It is thus not uncommon to find in Shelley a natural cretic 
forced to act as a metrical anapaest, e.g. — 

p. 236 : And a thick | hell of hat|reds and hopes [ and fears I 

10 2 

p. 499 : The intense | thunder- balls | which are rain^ing from heav(en 

10 2 

Have shat|tered its mast | and it stands | black and riv(en 

10 2 



Shelley's metre. 243 

p. 499: But sevlen remained. I Six the thunlder had smit(ten 

10 2 

p. 501 : Round sealbirds and wrecks I paved with heaven's 1 azure smile | 

1 2 10 2 

p. 503 : The volca|noes are dim I and the stars | reel and swim I 

10 2 

p. 517: Gods and men | we are all I delu|ded thus | 

10 2 

p. 503 : Till the calm I rivers lakes j and seas | 
' 1 2 

p. 237 : And Love, ] Thought and Breath | 

10 2 

p. 237 : From the new | world of man | 

10 2 

p. 214 : Death despair | , love sor(row 

10 2 12 

So too a bacchius or even a molossus is at times pressed 
into service as an anapaest, e.g. — 

p. 583: The best lovejliest and last | 

12 

p. 237 : The powers | that quell death | 

12 

p. 490: Which flung | from its bells | a sweet peal I anew I 

1 1 2 

p. 501 : With her right | she sustains | her fair in|fant. Death, Fear | 

oil 
p. 499 : Like dead men I the dead limbs | of their comlrades cast 1 

12 1 2 

p. 219 : I desire I and their speed I makes night kin(dle 

1 1 2 

p. 500: Stand rigjid with horlror a loud I long hoarse cry I 

1 1 1 

even when the anapaest occurs in iambic metre — 

p. 633: And as | a shut li|ly stric|ken by | the wind | 

12 

unless we suppose the line to begin with an amphibrach. 
Sometimes a pyrrhic stands for an anapaest, as 

p. 234: From the chil|drSn 5f | a divi|ner day | 
p. 490: And the Nai|ad-like li|ly of | the vale | 



In trochaic metre we find pyrrhics and spondees, as in 
the Skylark — 

In the I broad dayjlightA 

11 

In the I white dawn | clear A 

1 1 

and 

p. 198: Leave the | bed, low, | cold and | red A 
1 1 



p. 447: With a I pace state] ly and | free A 

1 10 



16—2 



244 ON ENQLISH METRE. 

p. 461 : This delmand tylrants would I flee A 

110 

i p. 462: Thou art | peace. Nev|er by | thee A 

1 10 

How far should the consciousness of the metre change 
the natural pronunciation of the words in such cases as we 
have been considering? Hardly at all, I think, in five-foot 
iambic verse, a little more in short trochaic, but not much. 
It would be absurd, for instance, to read according to strict 

metre — 

Thou art | peace, nfiv|er by | thee 

But anapaestic rhythm generally is heard above the natural 
emphasis, e.g. — 

paved with heaven's | izttre smile | 
though not so far as to destroy the splendid effect of the 
molossus — 

I6ng hoSrse cry | 

So far I have only referred to one effect of these metrical 
licenses — viz., variety, but no one can have listened to the 
lines read, even apart from their context, without feeling that 
they often subserve a higher poetical purpose. Take, for 
instance, for the use of the trochee — 

p. 261 : And lifted up to God, Father of all, 
Passionate prayers 

— the words ' Father ' and ' passionate ' gain immensely in 
force by the break in the regular rhythm, though the effect 
is helped of course by another artifice — if we may call by 
that name what is only the action of strong poetic instinct — 
I mean alliteration, of which I shall shortly speak. I add 
a few other examples which may be left to speak for them- 
selves. 

p. 56 : Beneath | the cold | glare of | the des|olate night | 

2 

p. 57 : Beauti|ful bird | thou voy|agest to | thine home 

10 110 

p. 256: Of my I impeirious step | scorning | surprise I 

1 2 

p. 264: One look | one smile. | Oh he | has tramplled me | 

2 2 

Here the preceding trochee gives wonderful force to the 
next accented syllable in trampled. 



Shelley's metre. 245 

p. 273: Neve^' \ to change, j never \ to pass | away | 
p. 300: Oh thou who tremblest on that giddy verge 

Of life I and death, | pause ere | thou ans|werest me | . 
p. 309 : Be as | a mark | stamped on \ thine in|nocent brow I 

10 2 1: 

p. 279: Is there made 

Ravage \ of thee ? | Oh heart, | I ask | no more | 
p. 54: till meaning on his vacant mind 

Flashed like \ strong in|spira|tion — 
p. 58 : A whirlwind swept it on 

With fierce I ghosts and I precip|ita|ting force I 

2 

p, 523 : The ripe | corn un|der the unldulajting air | 

1 

Undu|lates like | an ojcean — 

1 

Then take the following, as shewing the eflfect of trisyllabic 
substitution : — 

p. 55 : The e\\oquent blood | told an | inef] fable tale \ 
Then yield |ing to | the \r\resis\tible joy \ 

p. 58 : Of wave | ruining \ on wave | and blast | on blast | 
Descending — 

contrast the magnificent rhythm of the line thus restored 
from Shelley's MS. with the old corrupt ' running,' 

p. 267 : Is penetrated with the injsolent light | . 

The fact that, in general, these licenses are felt to add 
greatly to the force or beauty of the line, affords I think a 
ground for suspicion when the result is a weak halting line, 
like that already quoted, 

p. 428 : Of those | on a | sudden | who were | beguiled | 



Another contribution to the rhythmical effect comes from 
the slurring of short syllables or the resolution of long ones. 
We find syllables ending in r, as fire, desire, retire, empire, 
poor, hour, fierce, fear, disyllabized in such lines as 

I p. 187 : Scorn and | despair | these are | mine empfire | 

Cf 203, 262, 521, 635, 636, 711, 572, 435. 

So dare with very fine effect in p. 293 — 

Guilty? Who da (res talk | of guilt | my Lord | 



246 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

But it may be said, " "Why not explain this by internal 
truncation in the second foot, throwing an additional stress 
on who V I do not deny that theoretically this is an allowable 
explanation ; but, of two possible explanations, we are bound 
to take that which is most in accordance with the poet's 
practice elsewhere. While I know of no instance in which 
Shelley certainly used internal truncation in five-foot iambic, 
there are a number of cases in which it appears necessary to 
disyllabize long syllables followed by r, which indeed are very 
nearly disyllabic in ordinary conversation. 

Not only is a long vowel disyllabized before the letter 
r, but also a vowel is interpolated, as in Shakespeare, between 
a liquid and another consonant, as in p. 488 — 

Below I far lauds | are seen | trembl|ingly | 

1 

On the other hand we have short syllables slurred in such 
an anapaestic line as — 

p. 501 : And ojver head g\or\ious but dread\inl to see | 

where the third anapaest has strictly four syllables, but i is 
pronounced something like y. 

p. 499 : Is outshi|ning the nie\teors, its 6os|om beats high | 
p. 500: A Black | as a cor\morant the scream\mg blast | 

p. 501: As of some | hideous en\gme whose brajzen teeth smash | 
1 ^ 

Tremulous | with soft m\Jlv£nce extend\mg its tide | 

10 

p. 215 {tioo-foot anap.): 

That the~Eter|nal, the~^Immorltal 
Must unloose | through life's porjtal 

These are examples of slurring where one vowel precedes 
another: we have also examples of slurring where a vowel is 
followed by a consonant ; as in : — 

p. 500: Like a rainjbow, and I | the fallen shower. \ Lo! the ship | 
p. 601 : Swollen with rage \ strength and ef|fort, the whirl | and the 

splash I 
p. 500 : The wind | has burst out | through the chasm \ , from the air | 

Also in iambic lines : 

p. 197: white fire 

Ha^ cloven \ to the roots | yon huge | snow-loa|ded ce(dar 

1 



Shelley's metre. 247 

p. 230: Hide that j fair l)e|ing whom | we spirits \ call man | 
p. 213 : Of cat|aracts | from their | thaw-cloven \ ravines | 
p. 171 : Eminent | among | these vic\tims, even \ the fear I 

If however anyone prefers to pronounce these syllables 
fully and call the feet substituted amphibrach or bacchius, 
I should make no great objection. 

There are some cases in which we are compelled to take 
our choice between an unusual rhythm, and an unusual pro- 
nunciation, as in regard to the word ' omnipresence ' cited 
above : thus ' response ' seems required in — 



p. 205 
p. 209 
p. 333 



Languish, ere yet the r^ponses are mute 
Hark I Spirits speak. The liquid responses. 
Of dying Islam. Voice that art the r^{ponse 



' contemplatest ' in 

p. 330 : Thou art | as God | whom thou | cont^mlplatest | 

'contumely' (keeping the Latin accent) in 

p. 335 : Torments | or con tumejly or | the sneers \ 

If we insist on keeping the ordinary pronunciation of the 
word, the line becomes to my ear either mere prose, or ex- 
tremely lame verse. I may mention that in two dictionaries 
(Worcester, and Chambers's Etymological) I find the word 
marked as I suppose Shelley to have pronounced it, and Ben 
Jonson has the same pronunciation in Catiline, i. 1 (vol. iv. 
p. 219) 

Revenge | the conjtumeily stuck | upon (you. 

ib. IV. 1 (p. 2.90) 

— flies out 
In con]tume|lies, makes ] a noise |, and stinks | 

In p. .560 the stress is on the syllables rhyming with dead 

And from | her pre|sence life | was rajdia^eo? 
Like light | all othjer sounds | were pen|etra^ec?. 

In p. 255, if the reading is right, we have either two 
different pronunciations of ' miserable,' or the line ends with 
a double trochee : 

Most mis|erab|le. Why | miser|able? | 
No. I am what your theologians call 
Hardened — 



248 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Possibly Shelley intended the ' no ' of the second line to be 
taken into the first, and a ' but ' inserted after ' am.' 

I have dealt now with the chief metrical variations of 
Shelley's line. I proceed to speak of irregularities, arising 
from absence of symmetry in the stanza or poem. I am not 
sure how far these may be due to carelessness on Shelley's 
part or on the part of his editors ; how far indeed he was 
conscious of them, or would have approved them if he had 
become aware of them. Take for instance the song of Beatrice 
in The Cenci. It consists of two stanzas of eight lines, the 
first three lines in each being three-foot anapaestic, the fourth 
in St. 1 is four-foot iamb. 

The clay- (cold corpse | upon | the bier | 

to which corresponds in the second st. 

A When ] to wake? | never | again | 

which we should probably class as truncated iamb. 

The fifth and sixth lines are iambic three-foot and four- 
foot, the seventh line in st. 1 should, I think, be read — 

There's a snake | in thy smile | my dear | 
SO as to correspond with the second st. 

It says I thou and I | must part | 
but the eighth line of st. 1 has certainly four feet — 

And bit|ter poi|son within | thy tear | 
while the eighth of st. 2 naturally reads with three feet — 
With a light | and a heav y heart | 

In Death, p. 383, we have an iambic poem, where the 
fourth line of st. 1 has four feet with feminine ending — 

They are names | of kinidred friend | and lo(ver 
but the corresponding line of st. 2 has five feet masculine 
Watch the | calm sun {set with | them, and | this spot | 

In Gonstantia, p. 382, the first st. is of nine lines, the three 
others of eleven lines. The sixth line of st. 1 has seven feet : 

Within I thy breath | and on | thy hair | like ojdour it | is wet | 



Shelley's metre. 249 

In the other stanzas the sixth line has only four feet. 
The three four-line stanzas on a Faded Violet (p. 441) 
have four feet in the last line of the first st. 

Which breathed | of thee | and on|ly thee | 
three feet in the other stanzas 

With cold I and sijlent rest | 

In Pan, p. 517, the first four lines of st. 1 contain two 
anapaests each — 

From the for|ests and high(lands 
We come | we come | 

but the same lines in the other stanzas have three — 

I sang I of the dan|cing stars | 
I sang I of the dae|dal earth j 

Lines six to nine in st. 1 and 2 have three anapaests — 
The Sile|ni and Syl|vans and Fauns | 

in St. 3 the sixth line has five iambs — 

Singing | how down | the vale | of Mae|nalus | 

while the seventh, eighth, and ninth have four anapaests — 
I pursued | a mai|den and clasped | a reed | 

The tenth line in st. 1 has three, in st. 2 and 3 four 
anapaests. The last line in each stanza is anap. 3 + with 
trochaic or iambic substitution. 

The Question (p. 518) has an Alexandrine in the last line 
of the first st., in the others an ordinary heroic. 

In Witch of Atlas (p. 538) the fifty-third st. has an 
Alexandrine instead of heroic in the fourth line. In Hymn 
of Apollo (p. 516), written in five-foot iambic, the third line 
of the first stanza has only four feet — 

From the | broad moon|light of | the sky j 

perhaps some such word as ' nightly ' has been omitted before 
' sky.' 

So perhaps ' silver ' should be omitted in the line — 
And a silver shape like his early love doth pass (p. 520) — 



250 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

as it is the only one in the poem which has more than four 
feet. Similarly in p. 548 a word seems wanted in the line — 
When the north wind congregates in crowds 

— an epithet for ' north-wind ' would set this right. 

The World's Wanderers (p. 549) is trochaic, with the 
exception of the first line. 

Tell me | thou star | whose wings j of light j 

possibly 'thou' should be omitted. 

In Liberty (p. 550) the first st. ends with a four-foot 
anapaest, the others with three-foot. 

Some strong language has been used about the Lament 
(p. 596), where the third line has in the first stanza five 
iambs, and in the second only four — 

Trembling | at that | where I | had stood \ before | 
Fresh spring | and sumjmer and win^ter hoar. 

It is evident that Shelley cared very little about making 
his lines symmetrical, so that I should not be disposed to 
alter the line on that account, but the fact that autumn is 
the season omitted, while summer, which Shelley himself 
neglects in his reference to the seasons at the beginning of 
Alastor, and of which Keble says — 

Her bowers are mute, her fountains dry, 

And ever fancy's wing 
Steals from beneath her cloudless sky 

To autumn or to spring, 

summer is specified — this leads me to believe that the line 
was rightly emended 

Fresh spring and summer, autumn and winter hoar. 

Possibly the other line may be more pleasing to the ear. 
I will not dispute it, but I think we do Shelley more honour 
by ascribing to him the line which gives the best sense, 

I have not time here to give a full account of Shelley's 
more irregular metres, but I will analyse one, which has given 
me more trouble than any other — viz., the fine wild stanzas 
in p. 363, beginning — 

Away ! the moor is dark beneath the moon. 



Shelley's metre. 251 

I take the metre to be iambic, of five, six, or seven feet, 
breaking at intervals into anapaests. Its rhythm is I think 
best felt if we divide each line into two sections, and allow 
of feminine ending to the first section, as in the first two 
lines of the third stanza: 

The cloud | shadows | of mid(night || possess | their own | repose | 
For the wea|ry winds j are si(lent || or the moon | is on | the deep | 

The first line in the first two stanzas contains five feet, in 
the third stanza it has six. 

The second line in the first two stanzas contains six feet : 

A Eap|id clouds | have drunk || the last | pale beams | of even | 

[Here I think we should assume initial truncation, the 
first syllable of 'rapid' representing an iamb ; though it would 
of course be possible to take 'rapid clouds' as constituting an 
anapaest, or rather a cretic, so as to make a five-foot line.] 

Pour bitter te|ars on || its des ola|ted hearth j 

but in the third stanza, as already stated, the first section 
has a feminine ending, which would permit of its being treated 
as a seven-foot line 

For the wea|ry winds | are si [lent or | the moon | is on | the deep | 

The third line has six feet in the first stanza — 
Away ! | the gath|ering winds || will call | the dark|ness soon | 

To give it the same number of feet in the second stanza, 
we must suppose initial truncation: 

A Watch I the dim ] shades as || like ghosts | they go | and come | 

in the third stanza it has seven feet — 

Some resjpite to | its turbulence || unrestjing o|cean knows | 

The fourth line has six feet in the first two stanzas — 
And profoun|dest mid|night shroud || the serjene lights | of heaven [ 



252 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

[for the stress on the first syllable of ' serene ' compare Prince 
Athanase, p. 372 — 

Through which | his soul | like ves|per's serjene beam | 

and note on p. 375 — 

Double I the wes|tem plan|et'8 serjene frame |] 
in the third stanza it has seven feet — 

Whatev|er moves | or toils | or grieves || hath its | appoin ted sleep | 

The fifth line in the first and third st. has six feet — 
Pause uot I the time I is past || every | voice cries | away | 

10 

Thou in | the grave | shalt rest || yet till | the phanltoms flee | 

but in the second st. seven feet — 
The leaves | of wast|ed au|tumn woods || shall float j around | thy head | 

The sixth line is of six feet in every stanza. The two last 
lines of the third stanza may be read, like the second of the 
same stanza, as containing six feet with feminine ending of 
the first section. 

Thy rememlbrance and | repen(tance || and deep mu| sings are | not free | 
From the mu|sic of | two voi(ces || and the light | of one j sweet smile f 

but perhaps it is better to make them correspond with the 
last lines of the first and second stanzas by scanning them 
with seven feet, thus — 

Thy rememlbrance and | repen|tance and | deep mulsings are | not free | 

Though the character of the verse is determined by the 
position of the accent and the number of feet, and it pleases 
the ear in the first instance by the regular recurrence of the 
accent and the pause, and then by the apparent unrestraint, 
the spontaneity which is found to be possible within the 
bounds of law ; yet the beauty of verses arises not only from 
the recurrence of the accent and the pause, but also from 
the recurrence of certain sounds — i.e., from alliteration and 
rhyme, as well as from the beauty of the separate sounds. 
There is an extraordinary difference between poets in their 
sensitiveness to this beauty of sound. Contrast, for instance, 



SHELLEY'S METRE. 253 

these anapaestic lines taken at haphazard from Byron's 
Newstead Abbey — 

On Mars|ton with Rujpert 'gainst traitors conten(ding 

Four broth'ers enriched | with their blood | the bleak field | 

For the rights | of a mon|arch their coun|try defen(ding 
Till death | their attach |ment to loyal|ty sealed | 

with the following from The Sensitive Plant (p. 490) — 

And the hy|acinth, pur|ple and white | and blue | 
Which flung | from its bells | a sweet peal | anew | 
Of music so delilcate soft | and intense \ 
It was felt I as an ojdour within | the sense | 

What makes the difference between the hard, dry canter 
of the former and the sweet airy movement of the latter ? One 
difference is the prevalence of doubled consonants, especially 
of dentals in the one, and of vowels and liquids in the other. 
It is an effort to pronounce the. one, the other flows easily 
from the lips. Shelley's favourite alliteration in I seems to 
echo the sweet peal of the delicate bells, while Byron's t's and 
d's are to my mind unmeaning and annoying, and even the 
bl (of blood and bleak) which Shelley uses with such effect 
in a later stanza — 

And plants | at whose name | the verse | feels loath | 
Filled the place | with a mon|strous un|dergrowth | 
Prick|ly and puljpous and blis]tering and blue | 
Liv|id and starred | with a lujrid dew | 

is entirely ineffective in Byron's lines. 

I proceed to give other examples of alliteration in Shelley, 
and first, of I. It runs through the beautiful song of the 
Prometheus (p. 220) — 

Life of life thy lips enkindle 
With their love the breath between them. 



Child of Light, thy limbs are burning 

Through the vest that seems to hide them, 
p. 54 : Till in the vale of Cashmire, far within 

Its loveliest dell, where odorous plants entwine 
Beneath the hollow rocks a natural bower, 
Beside a sparkling rivulet he stretched 
His languid limbs. 



254 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

m, p. 52 : And silence, too enamoured of that voice 
Locks its mute music in her rugged cell, 
p. 59 : The ghastly torrent mingles its far roar 

With the breeze murmuring in the musical woods. 

w, p. 56 : Their wasting dust, wildly he wandered on 
Day after day, a weary waste of hours 

p. 53 : Many a wide waste and tangled wilderness. 

Nor is it only the softer sounds which Shelley knows how 
to use; we meet cl and cr in p. 53 — 

Frequent with crystal columns and clear shrines 
Of pearl, and thrones radiant with chrysolite. 

d, in p. 56 : Where every shade which the foul grave exhales 
Hides its dead eye from the detested day. 

6, in p. 53 : With burning smoke or where bitumen lakes 
On black bare pointed islets ever beat 
With sluggish surge. 

and of I, d, g, in The Skylark — 

Like a glow-worm golden 
In a dell of dew. 

There is a splendid combination of h, p, I, g, and long t"s 
and o's in p. 260 — 

Oh, thou bright wine whose purple splendour leaps 
And bubbles gaily in this golden bowl. 

There is however a nemesis lying in wait for the love of 
beauty in sound as in other things, and I think it cannot 
be denied that Shelley's verse sometimes cloys from over- 
sweetness, and makes us long for the tonic of Browning's 
ruggedness. He cannot resist the attraction of such words 
as ' lorn,' ' silver,' ' solemn,' ' charm,' * woven,' ' pavilion,' ' lamp,' 
* lute,' etc. He sacrifices grammar for the sake of avoiding a 
disagreeable sound, using — e.g. ' thou ' as an accusative. Several 
blemishes of the kind have been corrected in Rossetti's and 
restored in Forma n's edition. 

But I must turn now to Shelley's use of rhyme. No one 
has made better use of double rhyme (medial and final), in 
such a poem as The Cloud.] 



Shelley's metre. 255 

I sift the snow on the mountains below, 
And their great pines groan agliast, 

(notice the alliteration in s and g) 

And all the night 'tis my pillow white 
While I sleep in the arms of the blast. 

But in the use of ordinary rhyme Shelley often shews 
himself very careless ; thus he gives rhymeless lines in rhymed 
passages, some of which have been ingeniously corrected in 
Rossetti's edition, but more are left : as in Athanase (p. 379), 
below and wings have no rhyme ; in Rosalind (p. 389), there 
is no rhyme for loveliness and hover; in Julian (p. 428), no 
rhyme to spoke. Sometimes the word itself is repeated as a 
rhyme, as in p. 389 — 

In silence then they took their icai/ 
Beneath the forest's solitude; 
It was a vast and antique wood 
Through which they took their way, 
And the grey shades of evening 
O'er that green wilderness did fling 
Still deeper solitude. 

Or, if not the actual word, yet a compound, as motion is made 
to rhyme with emotion. 

The rhymes are often lax, as in most poets — e.g., rwin 
with pursuing (pp. 515, 520), frown with disown (p. 387), 
heck with hlack (p. 531), and now with also (p. 424). There 
is however a peculiar negligence in p. 521, where the second 
half of empire is disyllabized in one line, and the last part 
of it, the final -er, is made to rhyme with the entire word 
fire — 

When lamp|-like Spain | who now | resumes | her fire 
On free|dom's hearth | grew dim | with eai\pire. 

Compare p. 635, where the line 

Under | the crown | which girt | with emlpire |" - 

rhymes with 

Of king|ly mant|les, some | across | the tire | 

So, in Hymn to Mercury (p. 645) — 

She gave | to light | a babe | all babes | excel(ling, 



256 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

where the last syllable is superfluous, rhymes with 

A 8hep|herd of | thin dreams | a cow | stealing | 

which has no superfluous syllable'. 

There is what might seem a similar instance in p. 539, 
where the line which one would naturally scan, 
Or char|iotee|ring ghast|ly al|liga(tors 

is made to rhyme with 'floors' and 'doors.' But I suppose 
Shelley must have pronounced it alligatdrs. 

I have not made any study of long complicated rhyme 
systems, but, as far as my own feeling goes, rhymes lose their 
effect when they are separated by more than ten lines, as 
sky and high in Rosalind and Helen, p. 389. 

I will bring to an end this very imperfect and fragmentary 
view of Shelley's metre by a few more general remarks on 
its development. In early poems we see marks of the influence 
of former poets, of Southey throughout Queen Mah, but also 
of Pope in such lines as (p. 32) — 

Guides the fierce whirlwind, in the tempest roars, 
Cheers in the day, breathes in the balmy groves, 
Strengthens in health and poisons in disease. 

Here and there we meet the genuine Shelley, as in p. 47 — 
Low through the lone cathedral's roofless aisles 
The melancholy winds a death-dirge sung. 

Alastor is full of reminiscences of Wordsworth. We meet 
such phrases as ' natural piety,' ' the deep heart of man,' ' a 
woe too deep for tears.' Compare too the concluding lines — 

But pale despair and cold tranquilUty, 
Nature's vast frame, the web of human things, 
Birth and the grave, which are not as they were. 

1 Curiously Campion has two instances of a similar license in one short 
poem (Golden Treasury, c. 1): 

Of Nepjtune's em|pire let | us sing \ 
At whose command the waves obey; 
To whom the rivers tribute pay, 
Down the | high mounjtains slid(ing 
and in the next verse : 

The Tri|ton8 dan|cing in | a ring \ 



Like the | great thunjder 80und(ing. 



Shelley's metre. 257 

Milton's Lycidas is the model in parts of the Ode to Liberty 
(p. 510) and Adonais ; and Shakespeare's Othello and Macbeth 
in The Cenci. There is also an echo of The Merchant of Venice 
in Beatrice's speech (Cenci, p. 308), " Plead with swift frost," 
etc. The Odes to Liberty, to Naples, etc. were I suppose 
suggested by Coleridge's odes, and probably Rosalind and 
Helen by Christabel. Shelley's use of the anapaest seems to 
be quite his own. His iambic verse in much of The Cenci and 
the Adonais, has, I think, all the stateliness of Milton with 
perhaps more of flexibility and sensibility. If I had to select 
a single passage which in my opinion exhibits Shelley at his 
highest in metre, as in every other poetical quality, it would 
be the description by Beatrice of the scene where her father 
is to be murdered. I never read it without thinking of 
Cassandra in the Agamemnon. There is the same intensity 
of imagination in the two cases: in the one calling up all 
the past horrors of the house of the Atridae before the bodily 
eye ; in the other finding the doom of the lost soul written 
on the natural features of the landscape. But there is a 
marked contrast between the quality of the imagination at 
work in the two cases, between the strong masculine grip of 
fact and reality in the former and the diffusion of a sort of 
electric atmosphere which seems to characterize the latter; 
between what we might call the imagination of form and the 
imagination of colour. Hence we are not surprised to find 
that the foreboding of Beatrice turns out to be no genuine 
prophecy of actual fact, but a mere subjective hallucination. 
I think the same contrast might be shewn at length in the 
Prometheus of the two poets. 

I add one or two emendations which have occurred to me 
in reading through Shelley's poems. In Marianne's Dream 
(p. 379) the line ' And o'er the vast cope of bending heaven ' 
would run more easily if the superfluous ' and ' were omitted. 
In Galderon (p. 695) the second of the following lines — 

And thenceforth shall so firm an amity 
'Twixt thou and me be, that neither fortune 
(nor time nor heaven can divide us). 

M. M. 17 



268 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

should surely have * as ' inserted before * that.' In p. 288 
it should be * reverend ' not ' reverent brow.' In p. 332 ' And 
seems — he , is — Mahommed ' not ' Mahomet.' 
In p. 337 I do not see the sense of saying 

Where fairer Tempes bloom, there sleep 
Young Cyclads on a sunnier deep. 

The Cyclads are not in Thessaly. I believe Shelley wrote 

* here.' In Julian, p. 424, it is more natural to read ' The day 
had been cheerful but cold,' instead of ' this day.' In p. 434 
we find the lines — 

No thought on my dead memory — Alas! Love, 
Fear me not, against thee I'd not move 

To scan these lines we should have to treat ' love ' as a 
feminine ending of the former, and suppose it to rhyme with 
the masculine ending of the latter: we should also have to 
disyllabize ' fear ' in the latter, or to read ' I would ' in full. 
These harshnesses are avoided if we transfer ' love ' to the 
beginning of the latter line, but then we lose the rhyme. Still 
that is not unexampled in Shelley's verse, and it is on the 
whole, I think, the best solution of the difficulty; though I 
would not deny that Shelley himself may have intended the 
rhyme under some confused impression that ' love ' belonged 
to the former line. 

In p. 513 can it be right to speak of Art ' diving on fiery 
wings to Nature's throne'? I think Shelley wrote 'rising' 
or ' soaring.' In the Hymn of Pan, would it not be more 
natural to say ' From the forests and highlands they come, 
they come ; listening to my sweet pipings,' instead of 'we come' ? 
compare the last verse : 

And all that did then attend and follow. 
Were silent with love, as you now, Apollo, 
With envy of my sweet pipings. 

In Prometheus, p. 211, we should, I think, read 
Or when some star, of many one, 
instead of ' many a one.' It is a reminiscence of Wordsworth's 
Ode. In p. 212 it does not seem to me that the emendation 

* than ' for ' which ' improves the line, 

Ay, many more which we may well divine. 



Shelley's metre. 259 

The question put is : Are there more spirits ? to which the 
answer is : Yes, many which we may divine, but cannot speak 
of now. In p. 209, ' around the crags ' is, I think, more poetical, 
more suited to the airy spiritual voices than Rossetti's 'among.' 
In p. 240 I should be inclined to insert ' the ' after ' laughed ' 
in the line 

Rovmd which death laughed, sepulchred emblems 
Of dead destniction — 

As I am here dealing with the Prometheus, I will end my 
paper with an observation which may be new to some of my 
readers, that the three queer names of snakes mentioned in it — 
seps, p. 222 ; dipsas, p. 229 ; and amphisbaena, p. 231 — are 
taken from Lucan. Was Shelley reading the Pharsalia, when 
he composed it ? 



17—2 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 

Im Hexameter steigt des Springquells flussige SaiUe : 
Im Pentameter drauf fallt sie melodisch herab. 

Schiller. 

In the Hexameter rises the fountain's silvery cohimn ; 
In the Pentameter aye falling in melody back. 

Coleridge. 

The first introduction of the Hexameter into English 
poetry, as into the poetry of other nations, was due to the 
Renaissance. Those who had learnt to appreciate the power 
and beauty of the metre of Homer and Virgil became impa- 
tient of the restrictions of alliteration and rhyme, as well as of 
the general slovenliness of English versification which marks the 
interval between Chaucer and Surrey. Thus Ascham, writing 
in 1568 of the change in the Latin metres commenced by 
Ennius and perfected by Virgil, says (Schoolmaster, p. 176 f ed. 
Mayor) : ' This matter maketh me gladly remember my sweete 
tyme spent at Cambridge and the pleasant talke which I had 
oft with M. Cheke and M. Watson of this fault, not only in the 
olde Latin Poets, but also in our noAV English Rymers at this 
day. They wished, as Virgil and Horace were not wedded to 
follow the faultes of former fathers... but by right imitation of 
the perfit Grecians had brought Poetrie to perfitness also in 
the Latin tong, that we Englishmen likewise would acknow- 
ledge and understand rightfully our rude beggarly ryming, 
brought first into Italie by Gothes and Hunnes, whan all good 
verses and all good learning were destroyed by them, and after 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 261 

caryed into France and Germanie, and at last received into 
England by men of excellent wit indeede, but of small learning 
and less judgement in that behalfe.' 'The noble Lord Th. 
Earle of Surrey, first of all English men, in translating the 
fourth booke of Virgil, and Gonsalvo Periz, that excellent 
learned man and secretarie to kyng Philip of Spaine, in trans- 
lating the Ulysses of Homer out of Greeke into Spanish, have 
both by good judgement avoyded the fault of ryming, yet 
neither of them hath fullie hitte perfit and trew versifying. 
In deede they observe just number and even feete : but here 
is the fault, that their feete be feete without joyntes, that is to 
say, not distinct by trew quantitie of sillables. And so such 
feete be but numme feete, and be even as unfitte for a verse to 
turn and runne roundly withall, as feete of brasse or wood be 
unwieldie to go well withall \' ' The spying of this fault now is 
not the curiositie of English eyes, but even the good judge- 
ment also of the best that write in these dayes in Italic ; and 
namelie of that worthie Senese Felice Figliucci, who writyng 
upon Aristotle's Ethickes...amongest other things doth most 
earnestlie invey agaynst the rude ryming of verses in that 
tong : and whan soever he expresseth Aristotle's preceptes with 
any example out of Homer or Euripides, he translateth them, 
not after the rymes of Petrarke, but into soch kinde of perfite 
verse, with like feete and quantitie of sillables, as he found 
them before in the Greke tonge : exhorting earnestlie all the 
Italian nation to leave of their rude barbariousnesse in ryming 
and folow diligently the excellent Greke and Latin examples in 
trew versifying.' 'This I write... to exhorte the goodlie wittes 
of England, which, apte by nature and willing by desire, geve 
themselves to Poetrie, that they, rightly understanding the 
barbarous bringing in of rymes, would labour, as Virgil and 
Horace did in Latin, to make perfit also this point of learning 
in our English tong^.' Again, in p. 71, speaking of translations 
of Homer, he says, ' it was not made at the first more naturallie 
in Greke by Homere, nor after turned more aptelie into Latin 
by Horace, than it was a good while ago in Cambridge trans- 
lated into English, both plainlie for the sense and roundlie for 

1 Schoolmaster, p. 181. * lb. p. 185. 



262 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

the verse, by one of the best scholars that ever S. John's 
College bred, Mr Watson, myne old frend, sometime Bishop of 
Lincoln. Therefore for their sake that have lust to see how 
our English tong, in avoidyng barbarous ryming, may as well 
receive right quantitie of sillables and trewe order of versifying 
...as either Greke or Latin, if a cunning man have it in hand- 
ling, I will set forth that one verse in all three tonges, for 
an example to good wittes that shall delite in like learned 
exercise. 

HOMERUS : 

TToWmv 8 dvdputiTbiv i8(u a<TT(a Kol voov ryvo). 

HORATIUS : 

Qui mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes. 

M, Watson : 

All travellers do gladly report great praise of Ulysses, 

For that he knew many men's maners, and saw many cities^.' 

These lines of Watson's are also praised in Webbe's Discourse 
of English Poetrie, 1586 (quoted in the notes to Ascham, 
p. 259) : ' There is one famous Distichon, which is common in 
the mouthes of all men, that was made by one Master Watson, 
fellowe of S. John's Colledge in Cambrydge about 40 yeeres 
past, which, for sweetnes and gallantnes thereof in all respects, 
doth match and surpasse the Latine coppy of Horace.' It 
would seem therefore that the earliest English hexameter was 
written before the middle of the 16th century. And Ascham 
himself in the Toxophilus, published in 1544, gives the follow- 
ing specimens of his own writing : 

'Twang' quoth the bow, and 'twang' quoth the string, and quickly the 

shaft flew. 
Up to the pappe his string did he pull, his shaft to the hard iron. 
What thing wants quiet and merie rest, endures but a small while. 

So little ground had Gabriel Harvey, who himself refers to 
Watson's lines^, for his claim to have been the first inventor of 
the English hexameter. The earliest notice we have of Harvey's 

1 Watson is said to have translated the first book of the Odyssey, but it is no 
longer in existence. 

« See Ascham, p. 260. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 263 

hexameters is in Spenser's letter written in 1579, where 
he says, 'I like your late English Hexameters so exceedingly 
well, that I also enure my pen sometimes in that kind ; which 
I find indeed, as I have heard you often defend in word, neither 
so hard nor so harsh, that it will not easily and fairly yield 
itself to our mother tongue,' 

However, it was no doubt mainly owing to Harvey's 
authority and influence, that the hexameter enjoyed a con- 
sidierable vogue during the reign of Elizabeth. Before giving 
specimens of his work and that of his followers, I will first 
mention the names of some of the foreign versifiers who led the 
way in this enterprize. Dr Karl Elze, in his Program m on 
Der Englische Hexameter (Dessau, 1867), says that Italy first 
set the fashion with Leon Baptista Alberti (1404 — 1484); that 
it was taken up in France by Etienne Jodelle (1532 — 1573), 
Etienne Pasquier (1529 — 1615), and Antoine de Baiif(1532 — 
1589); and in Germany about the same time by Kolross, Birck, 
and Gesner. Spain followed in the person of Villegas (1596 — 
1669)^ 

I return now to Harvey, whose verses afterwards met with 
deserved ridicule from Greene and Nash. His Encomium Lauri 
begins as follows : 

What may I | call this | tree? A \ Laurell ? | bonny Laurell: | 
Needs to thy | bow will I | bow this [ knee, and | vayle my bo|netto |. 

His Speculum Tuscanismi thus : 

Since Galajteo came | in, and | Tuscajnism gan | usm^; | 

Vanitie a|bove all : | Villanie | next her : | Stateliness | empress : | 

No Man | but Mi|nion, Stowte | Lowte, Plaine | Swayne, quoth a | Lording : 1 

No words I but valo|roQs, no | deeds but | womanish | only. | 

A somewhat better example is 

Virtue | sendeth a | man to re|nown, fame | lendeth a|bundance | 
Fame with a|bundance | maketh a | man thrice | blessed and | happy | . 

We have two elegiac couplets from Spenser, who seems to 
have soon wearied of the experiment : 

1 Specimens of Jodelle, Pasquier and Villegas will be found in Southey, 
Appendix to Vision of Judgement. 



264 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

See ye the | blindfoljded prgtty | God, that | featherM | archer, | 
Of lovlfirs luiselnes || which mEketh | his bloOdy | game? | 

Wot ye why | his mojther with a | veil hath | covered | his face? | 
Trust me, | lest he my | love || happily | chance to bejhold. | 

Sir Philip Sidney is far better in 

First shall | fertile | grounds not | yield injcrease of a | good seed, | 
First the | rivers shall | cease to re|pay their | floods to the | ocean, | 
First shall | virtue be | vice, and | beauty be | counted a | blemish, | 
Ere that I | leave with | song of | praise her j praise to sojlemuize. | 

But he is also responsible for the following : 

Lady re|served by the | heaven to 1 do pS,st6rs' [companies | honour i, | 
Joining | your sweet | voice to the | rural | muse of a | desert, | 
Here you | fully do | find this [ strange ope|ration | of love, | 
How to the I woods Love | runs, as | well as | rides to the | palace, | 
Neither he | bears rever|ence to a | prince nor pi|ty to a | beggar. | 

* * * * 
But, I happy be | you, which | safe from | firy re|flection | 
Of PhoD|bus \do|lence, in | shade of | sweet Cypa|ris8us, | 

Or pleas|ant myr|t6ll, may | teach the un|fortunate | Echo | 

In these | woods to re|sound the rejnowned | name of a | goddess. | 

* * * * 

Self-lost I in wan|drlng, banish|ed that | place we do | come from. [ 

* * * * 
Opprest I with rui|n6us con|ceits by the | help of an | outcry. | 

Worst of all is 'the learned Mr Stanyhurst ' in his translation 
of Virgil, published at Leyden in 1.582, in which it is difficult 
to find anything intelligible for quotation. The following is a 
favourable specimen, 

Now do they | raise ghast|ly lightlnlngs, now | grisly re|boundings j 

Of ruff|-raff roar|lng, mens | hearts with j terror algrizing, | 

With pell|-mell rampjing, with | thwick-thwack | sturdily | thundering | . 

Webbe in his Discourse of English Foetrie, 1586, gives a trans- 
lation of the First Eclogue of Virgil, from which I take the 
following : 

That same | city so | brave, which | Rome was | wont to be | callM, j 
Fool, did I I think to be | like this of | ours, where | we to the | pastiu-es | 
Wonted | were to re | move from | dams our | young prStty | cattle | . 

^ Or should we make the 4th foot a trochee, adding ' do ' to the 3rd ? This 
would give a line without a caesura. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 265 

Our last quotation shall be from Abraham Fraunce, Fellow of 
St John's College, Cambridge, who translated Watson's Latin 
poem Amyntas in 1591. Mr Courthope {Hist, of Eng. Poetry, 
vol, II. p. 299) speaks of it as 'the only example of the style 
possessing the slightest pretensions to elegance,' and quotes the 
following passage * as shewing a sense of grace and beauty.' 

Hollow I caves, ragg'd | rocks, waste | hills, green | watery | fountains | 

For pity | sweetly re|ply, and | answers | make to my | mourning. | 

Strong oak | tall pinejtree, green | laurel, | beautiful | ivy | 

Shake their | leaves for | grief and | bend their | boughs to my | groaning. | 

Only that | one, in | whom my | joys are | only re|posed, | 

Yields no | lovely rejply, no | answer | makes to my | mourning | 

The discords of these early hexameters were not unper- 
ceived by contemporary critics, nor even, in some cases, by 
the authors themselves. Thus Ascham writes {Schoolmaster, 
p. 178), 'Carmen Hexametrum doth rather trotte and hoble 
than run smoothly in our English tong.' Spenser in his letter 
to Harvey says, ' The only or chiefest hardness is in the accent, 
which sometime gapeth and as it were yawneth ill-favouredly ; 
coming short of that it should, and sometime exceeding the 
measure of the number; as in "carpenter," the middle syllable 
being used short in speech, when it shall be read long in verse, 
seemeth like a lame gosling, that draweth one leg after her; 
and "heaven," being used short as one syllable, when it is in 
verse stretched out with a diastole, is like a lame dog that 
holds up one leg. But it is to be won with custom, and rough 
words must be subdued with use. For why, a God's name, 
may not we, as ivell as^ the Greeks, have the kingdom of our 
own language, and measure our accents by the sound, reserving 
the quantity of the verse ? ' Harvey in reply maintains that 
the common pronunciation should be adhered to in verse ; but 
quantity seems to be the ruling principle in many of the ex- 
amples given above. 

Nash is perhaps the most severe of the critics. In his 
answer to Harvey's Four Letters, he writes : ' The hexameter 
verse I grant to be a gentlemen of an ancient house — so is 
many an English beggar — ^yet this clime of ours he cannot 

1 Printed ' else ' in the editions. 



266 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

thrive in : our speech is too craggy for him to set his plough 
in : he goes twitching and hopping in our language, like a man 
running upon quagmires, up the hill in one syllable, and down 
the dale in another, retaining no part of that stately smooth 
gait which he vaunts himself with among the Greeks and 
Latins.' With special reference to Stanihurst he writes in 
1589, that his 'heroical poetry recalled to life whatever hissed 
barbarism hath been buried this hundred year, and revived by 
his ragged quill such carterly variety as no hodge ploughman 
in a country but would have held as the extreme of clownery' : 
and again in 1592, 'Master Stanihurst, though otherwise 
learned, trod a foul, lumbering, boisterous, wallowing measure 
in his translation of Virgil ^' 

The extraordinary development of the English iambic in 
the hands of such masters as Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton, 
drove out all thought of the hexameter, and we hear no more 
of it till 1737, when an anonymous translation of two of the 
Eclogues of Virgil appeared, shewing no improvement on the 
older experiments. Take as an example. 

The city I called Rolraa, Meli|baeus I | simply i|aiagined | 

Our city I resemb|ling, whither | oft we | swains are ac|customed | 

Our ten|der proge|ny of | ewes to ] drive to the | market. | 

Then about the year 1760 Goldsmith, in an essay on Versi- 
fication, undertakes the defence of the hexameter. ' It is 
generally supposed,' he says, 'that the genius of the English 
language will not admit of Greek or Latin measure ; but this, 
we apprehend, is a mistake owing to the prejudice of educa- 
tion.' ' Sir Philip Sidney is said to have miscarried in his 
essays ; but his miscarriage was no more than that of failing in 
an attempt to introduce a new fashion... We have seen several 
late specimens of English hexameters and sapphics, so happily 
composed, that by attaching them to the idea of ancient 

^ In Schipper's Englische Metrik, p. 445 n., there is a tentative bibliography 
of English Hexameter Verse. In it we find the names of John Dickenson, who 
brought out his Shepherd's Complaint (a poem of no special interest) in 1596, 
and Thomas Edwards, the author of Cephalus and Procris, which appeared 
in 1595. The latter however is in heroics, not, as stated, in hexameters. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 267 

measure, we found them in all respects as melodious and agree- 
able to the ear as the works of Virgil and A.nacreon or Horace.' 
I am unable to think of any English poem to which Gold- 
smith can be here alluding. In Germany, it is true, there had 
been a new birth of the hexameter in 1748, the year in which 
Klopstock brought out the first three cantos of the Messiah ; 
and this was followed by the Vossian translation of the Odyssey 
in 1781, and by Goethe's Hermann und Dorothea, in which the 
German hexameter reached its culminating point, in the year 
1797. Nor was it long before an echo was awakened in 
England. Before the end of the century Coleridge and William 
Taylor of Norwich began to translate from the German, and 
also to produce original hexameters. It will suffice to quote a 
few lines from Taylor's versification of Ossian, published in the 
Monthly Magazine for June 1796 : 

Thou who I roUst in the j firmament | round as the | shield of my | fathers | 
Whence is thy | girdle of | glory, O | Sun, and thy | light everjlasting ? | 
Forth thou | com'st in thy | awful | beauty ; the | stars at thy | rising | 
Haste to their | azure pa|vilions ; the [ moon sinks | pale in the | waters. 

Coleridge is rougher at first, but achieves a more perfect and 
varied harmony in his later pieces. In Mahomet he seems to 
be trying a prentice hand : 

Prophet and | priest, who \ scatter'd a|broad both | evil and ( blessing, | 
Huge wasteful | empires [ founded, and | hallowed | slow perse|cution | 
Soul-wither|ing, but | crushed the | blasphemous | rites of the | Pagan | 

In his translation from Stolberg, assigned to the same year 
(1799) by J. D. Campbell, he attains a higher level : 

Travelling the | vale with mine | eyes — green | meadows and | lake with 

grgen | island | 
Dark in its | basin of | rock, and the | bare stream | flowing in | brightness, | 
Thrilled with thy | beauty and | love in the ] wooded | slope of the | 

mountain, | 
Here, great | mother, I | lie, thy | child with his | head on thy | bosom | 

Still better is his translation of Schiller's lines, and indeed in 
my opinion far superior to the original, which I quote for the 
purpose of comparison : 



268 ON ENGLISH MKTRE. 

Schwindelnd | triigt er dich | fort auf | rastlos | str5menden | Wogen : 
Hinter dir | siehst du, du [ siehst || vor dir nur | Himmel und | Meer. | 

Strongly it | bears us ajlong in | swelling and | limitless | billows, | 
Nothing be|fore and | nothing be|hind, but the | sky and the | ocean. | 

Before going on to consider the further development of the 
English hexameter, it may be well here to point out in what 
respects it differs from the ancient hexameter, ' Dactylic Hexa- 
meter Catalectic,' in which the last dactyl loses its final syllable, 
so as to give a line consisting of five dactyls and a trochee ; 
but, as the final syllable of a verse was indifferently long or 
short, the final trochee might always be a spondee. Of the five 
dactyls which remain, the fifth must, as a rule, remain a dactyl ; 
the first four may be indifferently dactyls or spondees. Some- 
times a spondee is used in the fifth foot; but then, to give 
weight to the exceptional rhythm, the two last feet are 
generally contained in a single word, and the fourth foot is in 
most cases a dactyl. In the fragments of Ennius we find one 
or two verses without a single dactyl. The only instance in 
later writers seems to be one from Catullus : 

Si te lenirem nobis neu conarere. 

But, to make a verse, it is not enough to place side by side six 
feet of the kind mentioned, as in the line of Ennius, 

Sparsis hastis longis campus splendet et horret. 

For the beauty and harmony of the verse caesura is necessary • 
i.e., in some part or parts of the verse, the end of a word must 
coincide with the middle of a foot. The best and most common 
caesura in the dactylic hexameter is where the division occurs 
after the fifth half-foot, as in 

Tityre | tu patuilae || recuibans sub | tegmine | fagi, | 

where there are also two subordinate caesuras after tu and 
recubans. But the caesura in the third foot is sufficient by 
itself to produce a perfectly harmonious verse, as in 

lUius I immen|sae || ru|perunt | hoirea | messes, j 

To avoid monotony the best poets seek variety of rhythm 
by other caesuras. Next in power to the caesura after the fifth 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 269 

half-foot, comes that after the seventh half-foot ; but to give a 
proper verse, this caesura must be combined with others, as in 

Quid facijat lae|tas segejtes ]| quo | sidere | terrain l\ 

It is unnecessary to go into further minutiae here. The 
main differences between the rules for the Latin and the 
English metre are : (1) the substitution of accent for quantity, 
(2) the substitution of the trochee for the spondee. As to the 
former we have seen that there was a diversity of opinion and 
practice in the Elizabethan age ; and even in the Victorian age 
some have advocated the return to the principle of quantity, as 
Cayley in the Transactions of the Philological Society, 1862, 
Pt. I. p. 67 full. I quote a specimen of his quantitative line, 
marking the syllables in which quantity is at variance with the 
natural accent : 

Ah me ! great mourning for Achaean land is appointed : 
These were glad tidings for Priamus and for his household, 
And his olther Tro|jans would at | heart be dearly delighted, 
Could they but be apprised of this contention between you. 

The same is done by Spedding, quoted in Matthew Arnold's 
book On Translating Homer, pp. 150, 154, 

Verses | so modujlate, so | tuned, so | varied in | accent, j 
Rich with un|expec|ted chan|ges, smooth | stately so|norous, | 
Rolling ejver for | ward, tidejlike with | thunder in | endless | 
Proces|sion, com|plex mglo|dies, pause, | quantity, | accent ; | 
After I Virgilijan prece|dent and | practice in | order. | 

Softly comjeth slum|ber clos|ing th' o'erlwearied | eyelid | 

See also below on Mr Stone. 

But the vast preponderance of opinion is in favour of the 
accent as the determining principle of the rhythm of the 
English hexameter, while not denying the influence of quantity 
in subordination to the former. It is a fault, as Arnold says 
(p. 83), to force the quantity and abuse the accent by shorten- 
ing long syllables and lengthening short ones ; but it is a far 
worse fault to require the removal of the accent from its 
natural place to an unnatural one, in order to make the line 

1 Abbreviated from H. A. J. Munro's account of Latin Prosody, given at the 
end of the Public School Grammar. 



270 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

scan. While it is advisable to construct all verses so that by 
reading them naturally — that is, according to the sense and 
legitimate accent — the reader gets the right rhythm ; it is still 
more imperative to keep intact the accent in the hexameter, 
avoiding such a rhythm as that in Spenser's line 

Wot ye why | his mo|ther with a | veil hath | covered | his face ? | 
where ' not only is the reader causelessly required to make 
havoc with the natural accentuation, in order to make it run 
as a hexameter, but also, in nine cases out of ten, he will be 
utterly at a loss how to perform the process required, and the 
line will remain a mere monster for him.' We have examples 
of both faults in the lines above quoted from Coleridge's 
Mahomet, which begin ' Huge wasteful ' and ' Soul- withering.' 
Other examples from later poets will be found below. 

The second point of difference between the Latin and the 
English hexameter arises from the fact of the comparative 
rarity of the accentual spondee. This is however not unfre- 
quently employed with good effect in Kingsley's Andrmneda, e.g. 

Such in her | stature and | eyes and the | broad white | light of her | 

forehead, | 
Stately she | came from her | place, and she | spoke in the | midst of the | 

people : | 
'Pure are my | hands from | blood : most | pure this | heart in my | 

bosom. I 
Yet one | fault I re|member this | day, one | word I have | spoken.' | 

The want of inflexions and the prevalence of monosyllables 
are two other causes which differentiate the English hexameter 
not only from the Latin, but from the German also. The want 
of inflexions controls the order of the words ; the prevalence of 
monosyllables tends to make the close of the word coincide 
with the close of the foot. The latter difficulty has perhaps 
been exaggerated by foreign critics, such as Dr Elze, the con- 
nexion between article and noun, pronoun and verb, preposition 
and noun, being so intimate as almost to melt them into one. 

I go on now to give examples of the theory and practice of 
the writers of English hexameters during the 19th century. 
Southey, who claims to lead the way, 

'I first adventure, follow me who list.' 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 271 

but who only followed in the wake of W. Taylor and Coleridge, 
says, in the Preface to his Vision of Judgement (published in 
1821), that he had been long of opinion 'that an English 
metre might be constructed in imitation of the ancient hexa- 
meter, which would be perfectly consistent with the character 
of our language, and capable of great richness, variety, and 
strength.' As a pattern he quotes a verse of the Psalms, 
originally pointed out by Harris of Salisbury as a natural and 
perfect hexameter, 

Why do the | heathen | rage and the | people i|magine a | vain thing ? | ^ 

Beside the change of the spondee into the trochee, Southey 
says that, in order to avoid monotony, he has taken the liberty 
' of using any foot of two or three syllables at the beginning of 
the line ; and sometimes, though less frequently, in the 2nd, 
3rd, or 4th place.' Speaking of the Elizabethan hexameter, he 
says it was a failure, because ' Sidney and his followers wished 
to subject the English pronunciation to the rules of Latin 
prosody,' and that, while it is 'difficult to reconcile the public 
to a new tune in verse, it is plainly impossible to reconcile 
them to a new pronunciation. There was the further obstacle 
of unusual and violent elisions; and moreover, the easy and 
natural order of our speech was distorted by the frequent use 
of forced inversions, which are utterly improper in an unin- 
flected language.' 

Southey has some very beautiful verses, such as 

Fade, like the | hopes of | youth, till the | beauty of | earth is de|parted. | 
Dark and dis|tinct they | rose. The | clouds had | gathered a|bove them, | 
High in the | middle | air, huge | purple | pillowy | masses, | 
While in the west be|yond was the | last pale | tint of the | twilight. | 

1 Dr Guest's criticism of this line is on a par with his other judgments on 
things rhythmical. 'Properly read,' he says, 'the accent should be on and and 
thing ' ! 

Two other excellent hexameters have been discovered in the Authorized 
Version : 

God is gone | np with a { shout, the | Lord with the | sound of the | trumpet. | 
How art thou | fallen from | heaven, O | Lucifer | son of the | Morning | . 

To which Mr Reginald Haines in an article in N. and Q. for June 29, 1901, 
adds several other examples. 



272 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

But I do not think his licenses have always a good effect. 
Compare for the initial pyrrhic': 

"Ks & I deep dfiU | sound, that is | heavy and | mournful at I all times, | 

F6r It I tells of mor|tality | always. But | heavier | this day | 

Fell on the | conscious | ear its | deeper and | mournfuller | import | . 

Still less satisfactory is the pyrrhic in the 2nd foot, with initial 
iambic, as in 

— Here, | lost in their | promise | 
And prime, | w6re th6 | children of | art, who should | else have de|livered I 

« » 4» » 

NQr least | f8r thg I hope and the | strength that I | gathered in | boyhood | 

and what appear to be amphibrachs in the 1st foot, as 
Th&t not f6r | lawless de|sires nor j goaded by | desperate | fortunes | 

And ShakespeSre | who in our | hearts for him|self hath crelated an J 
empire | . 

In the following we seem to have iambs in other feet beside 
the 1st : 

Hear heaven | yg aujggls hear |, souls of the | good and the | wicked \ 

and possibly a molossus and cretic in these : 

Armed the ] chemist's | hand : well then | might Elgu|8inian | Ceres | 
And my | fe6t mSthought | sunk, and I | fell prejcipitate, | starting | 

Southey is also faulty in the management of the caesura, 
which is altogether wanting in 

And the | regions of | Paradise | sphere within | sphere inter] circled | 
So by the | unseen | comforted | raised I my | head in o|bedience | 

and in elision, or slurring, as in 

His reverend | form up|rose, heavenjward his | face was di|rected | 
In the I Orient and | Occident | known from | Tagus to | Tigris | ^ 

1 In the lines which follow I mark what seems to me the true accentuation, 
where it is opposed to the metre, not feeling sure how they would have been 
pronounced by Southey. 

^ There is one line of Southey's which I was at first unable to scan. It is 
thus given in the one-volume edition of his works 

Tier over | tier, they | took A | place a|loft in the j distance | 
but on looking in the ten-volume edition I found the missing syllable supplied 
by their. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 273 

Coleridge is more moderate in the licenses he claims (p. 
615 n.), viz. the use of cretic, instead of the dactyl (provided 
that the accent on the 1st syllable is stronger than that on the 
third), and anacrusis at the beginning of the line. This license 
would cover Southey's initial amphibrach. As examples we 
may take from the Hymn to the Earth: 

Forth yS sw6et | sounds from my | harp, and my | voice shall | float on 

your I surges | 
Was it not | well with thee | then, when | first thy | lap was un|girdled, ) 
Thy) lap to the | genial | Heaven the | day that he | woo'd thee and | 

won thee | 

Southey was followed by Hookham Frere who, in 1824, sent 
a friend some English hexameters ' of the right sort without 
false quantities,' of which I subjoin a specimen: 

Malta, sovereign isle, the destined seat and asylum 

Of) chivalry, honour, and arms, the nursing mother of heroes, 

Mirror of ancient days, monumental trophy, recording 

All that of old was felt or feared or achieved or attempted. 

When proud Europe's strength, restored with the slumber of ages, 

Eoused, and awoke to behold the triumphant impious empire 

Throned in the East : — 

In 1830 he tried the same metre in translating a chorus of 
the Frogs beginning, 

Now may the powers of earth give a safe and speedy departure 

To the) Bard at his second birth, with a prosperous happy revival, 

And may the city fatigued with wars and long revolution, 

At) length be brought to return to just and wise resolutions. 

Long in peace to remain. Let restless Cleophon hasten 

Far from amongst vis here : since wars are his only diversion, 

Thrace, his native land, will afford him wars in abundance. 

Frere introduces these lines with the following remarks t 
' The reader may perhaps observe an irregularity in the second 
line — what the grammarians call an anacrusis, i.e. unaccented 
syllables prefixed to the first ictus. This would be inadmissible in 
the regular classical hexameter ; but the irregularity is so little 
offensive to the ear, that the writer, in other attempts to 
construct English hexameters, has found himself, in more than 
one instance, falling into it. He has therefore preferred to 

M. M. 18 



274 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

leave it as it stands, an instance of the liberty which may be 
deemed allowable in adapting to the English language this 
difficult but by no means impracticable metre.' 

In 1841 Longfellow published his translation of Tegner's 
poem on the Children of the Lord's Supper, written in Swedish 
hexameters ; in the preface to which he says, ' The translation 
is literal, perhaps to a fault....! have preserved even the 
measure, that inexorable hexameter, in which it must be con- 
fessed the motions of the English Muse are not unlike those of 
a prisoner dancing in his chains.' As, in 1847, he produced a 
more important poem in the same metre, viz. the well-known 
Evangeline, and again at a later date the Courtship of Miles 
Standish, we may suppose that further experience modified his 
earlier doubts as to the employment of this line. The follow- 
ing passage from Evangeline may serve to illustrate his rhythm, 
which is, I think, both smoother and, at the same time, more 
varied than Southey's. 

Then came the | labourers | home from the | field, and se|renely the ] sun 

sank I 
Down to hi.s | rest, and | twilight prejvailed. A|non from the | valley \ 
Softly the | Angelus | sounded, and | over the | roofs of the | village | 
Columns of | pale blue | smoke, like | clouds of | incense as|cending | 
Rose from a | hundred | hearths, the | homes of | peace and con|tentment. | 

He is not however free from faults of accentuation and dis- 
regard of quantity, as in 

Lay in a fruitful | vallSy. Vast | meadows | stretched to the | eastward | 
Yet under | Benedict's | roof hospi|tality | seemed more ajbundant | 
That thS I dying | heard it and | started | up from their | pillows | 
That thg I angel of | death might | see the | sign and pass | over | 
Then through those | realms of | shade in | multiplied | r6verb6r|ations | 
Afterwards | wh6n all wis | finished the | teacher re|entered the | chancel [ 
Enter | not with a | lie on life's | journey ; the i multitude | hears you | 
Beautiful, | and in his | hand a | lily ; on | life's roaring | billows | . 

Caesura also is sometimes wanting, as in 

Such as the | peasants of | Normandy | built in the | reign of the | Henries] 
Numberless | noisy | weathercocks | rattled and | sang of mujtation | 

In the same year, 1847, appeared English Hexameter Trans- 
laiions, chiefly by Whewell, Julius Hare, Sir John Herschel, 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 275 

and Hawtrey. About one-fourth of the volume consists of 
Elegiacs. In the preface it is said, that the poems, having 
been written by several persons at various times, will probably 
shew discrepancies in the versification. 'It is believed, how- 
ever, that these are slight ; for all the pieces are executed with 
the intention that the lines being read according to the natural 
and ordinary pronunciation, shall run into accentual hexameters 

or pentameters Such verses may be no less acceptable to the 

English, than they have long been to the German poetical ear, 
and may be found suited in our language, as well as in its 
sister speech, to the most earnest and elevated kinds of poetry.* 
The longest piece (occupying 140 pages out of 275) is Whewell's 
translation of Hermann and Dorothea, which cannot, I think, be 
considered a great success. The reader is never beguiled into 
forgetting that it is a translation from the German. It con- 
tains several examples of initial pyrrhic or iamb, as 

Fur thS I rest held | still their | way, and | hastily | passed on | 
For so I Fear with her | abject | chill creeps | into the | bosom, | 
And dark | Care, which to | me far | worse than the | evil it|self is. | 
And thg I careful | dame brought | forth of the | generous | liquor | 
In thg I rich cut | flask, on the | bright clear | circle of I metal, | 
With thg I goblets | green, the | genuine | glass of the | Rhine wine. | 
With keen | look full- (fixed on his | brow the | minister | scanned him | 

Sometimes the accentuation is wrong in the other feet : 

For we | two made our | choice not | In days | 6f re|joicing | 
Which, be 1 fore sun | rise is | felt, had | wolce me from | slumber | 
Then comes | eve and | fr6m all | sides and in | every | corner | 
Mother in | vain it | will then | bS that | wealthy pos|sessions | 

Far better than this is Hawtrey's translation from the 
Third Iliad, which Matthew Arnold praises as ' the most suc- 
cessful attempt hitherto made at rendering Homer into 
English ' : 

Clearly the | rest I be|hold of the | dark-eyed | sons of Ajchaia ; | 
Known to me | well are the | faces of | all ; their | names I re| member; | 
Two, two I only re]main, whom I | see not a]mong the comjmanders, | 
Castor I fleet in the | car, Poly]deukes | brave with the j cestus. 
Own dear | brethren of | mine ; one | parent | loved us as ] infants. | 
Are they not | here in the | host, from the j shores of | loved Lake|daimon? | 

18—2 



276 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Or, though they | came with the | rest in | ships that | bound through 

the I waters, 
Dare they not | enter the | fight or | stand in the | council of | Heroes, | 
All for I fear of the | shame and the | taunts my | crime has a| wakened ? | 
So said I she ; — long | since they in | Earth's soft | arms were re|po8ing, ( 
There in their | own dear | land, their | Father) land, Lake|daimou. | ^ 

Lancelot Shadwell brought out his translation of the Iliad 
three years before the appearance of Evangeline. The rhythm, 
as seen in the following lines, is not bad, but his taste is 
atrocious, as shewn in the selection of such forms as Luky, 
Ily, Fthia to represent the Greek AvKirj, "IXcov, ^dirj. 

First on the mules and the dogs fell thickly the murderous shower ; 
Next on themselves the destructive darts, wide-wastefully wounding, 
Light^; and the funeral piles were daily and nightly rekindled. 
Nine days long through the camp ranged fiercely the shafts of Apollo. 

In the year 1848 appeared Clough's Bothie of Tober-na- 
Vuolich, a serio-comic poem which, harsh and rugged as it 
occasionally is, still shews, I am disposed to think, a freedom 
and a mastery over the resources of the English hexa- 
meter, such as is not to be found in any other example 
of the metre. Compared with Hawtrey's and Kingsley's more 
correct and musical measures, Clough's measure is like that of 
Horace's Epistles compared to the Aeneid, only that Clough 
often rises out of the conversational tone into real passion and 
emotion. Dr Elze has, I think, a little misunderstood this, 
when he treats the Bothie as a burlesque, and asks, Where is 
the humour in a trochaic line, like 

At the I last I \ told him | all, I | could not ] help it ? | 

But there is no intention to be humorous here : it is inten- 
tional negligence, like that shewn in Shakespeare's use of the 
feminine rhythm, see above on Hamlet (p. 196 foil.). 

^ Arnold changes ' Lakedaimon ' into ' Lacedaemon ' ' in obedience to my own 
rule that every thing odd should be avoided in rendering Homer, the most 
natural and least odd of poets.' He also changes, without remark, the order of 
words in the last line but one, reading ' they long since,' I suppose, in order to 
emphasize the contrast between ' she ' and ' they ' ; but this gives a less 
harmonious third foot. 

2 An attempt to reproduce the rhythm of the Greek, 

/3dXX'' aUl Si irvpaX v€k6wv Kalovro Oa/xeiai. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 277 

It is interesting to read Clough's own estimate of the hexa- 
meter, written for an American magazine in 1853 {Life, i. p. 
396 f.). He speaks there of Longfellow as having attuned the 
ears of his countrymen on both sides of the Atlantic to the flow 
and cadence of this hitherto unacceptable measure. It was in 
fact the reading of Evangeline which induced him to tr}' the 
hexameter himself (vol. i. 136). While allowing the excellence 
of Hawtrey's translation, he holds that Homer's rounded line 
and Virgil's smooth verse were both of them 'totally unlike 
those lengthy, straggling, irregular, uncertain slips of prose 
mesur^e, which we find it so hard to measure, so easy to read in 
half a dozen ways, without any assurance of the right. Is 

Conticuere omnes iutentique ora tenebant 
the same thing as 
Hab' ich den Markt und die Strasse doch nicht so einsam gesehen ? 

Is the following a metrical sequence : — 

Thus in the ancient time the smooth Virgilian verses 
Fell on the listening ear of the Roman princes and people. 
Ut belli signum Laurenti Turnus ab arce? 

' There is one line, one example of the smooth Virgilian 
verse, which perhaps Mr Longfellow would have allowed him- 
self to use 

Spargens hnmida mella soporiferumque papaver ; 

yet even this most exceptionable form, with its special aim at 
expressing by an adaptation of sound to sense the 

Scattering of | liquid | honey and | sopojriferous | poppy, 

is a model of condensation, brevity, smoothness, and nettete, 
compared with that sprawling bit of rhythmical prose into 
which I have turned it.' 

As specimens of his own verse we may take the following : 

Scarcely with | warmer | hearts and | clearer | feeling of | manhood, | 

Even in | toumay and | foray and j fray and | regular | battle, | 

Where the | life and the | strength came | out in the | tug and the | tussle } 

In the I grdnd old | tfmes of | b6ws and | bflls and | cldymore | 
At the old I Flodden | field or | Bannockbum | or Cul|loden | 



278 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Better a | cowslip with | earth than a | prize carjnation with|out it. | 
' That I al|Iow,' said \ Adam. But | he with the | bit in his | teeth, scarce | 
Breathed a brief | moment, and | hurried ex|ultingly | on with his | rider, | 
Far over | hillock and | runnel and | bramble, a|way in the | champaign, | 
Snorting de|fiance and | force, the | white foam | flecking his | flanks, the | 
Rein hanging | loose to his | neck and | head projecting be|fore him : j 
Oh, if they | knew and con|8idered, un| happy ones; | Oh, could they | see, 

could I 
But for a | moment dis|cern, how the | blood of true | gallantry | kindles, | 
How the old | knightly rejligion, the | chivalry | semi-quix|otic | 
Stirs in the | veins of a | man at | seeing some | delicate | woman | 
Serving him, | toiling for | him and the | world — 

I add one specimen from Amours de Voyage, p. 337 

Tibur is | beautiful | too, and the [ orchard | slopes and the | Anio | 
Falling, | falling | yet, to the | ancient | lyrical | cadence ; | 
Tibiu* and | Anio's | tide ; and | cool from Lulcretilis I ever, | 
With the Di|geutian | stream and | with the Ban|dusian | fountain, | 
Folded in | Sabine rejcesses, the | valley and | villa of | Horace. 

It will be noticed that one of the above lines and, I think, a 
very fine one, is made up of six trochees, but such a line is 
seldom satisfactory, considered by itself: compare that condemned 
by Dt Elze, 

At the ! last I | told him | all. I | could not | help it | 
which however, if read slowly with the proper pauses, expresses 
very well the feeling of utter surrender which belongs to the 
passage. 

Another example is in p. 216, which is also unbroken by 
caesura, 

Boudoir, | toilette, | carriage, | drawing-|room and | ball-room. | 

In other lines enjambement is very marked, though not 
quite to the same extent as in Amours de Voyage, p. 311 

— I know I 
Yet shall | one time | feel the | strong cord | tighten a | bout me, | 
Feel it, rejlentless, uplbear me from | spots I would | rest in ; and I though 

the I 
Rope sway | wildly, I | faint, crags | wound me, from ] crag unto | crag re- 1 
bounding, or | , wide in the | void, I | die ten | deaths ; ere the | end I | 
Yet shall | plant firm | foot on the | broad lofty | spaces I | quit, shall | 
Feel underlneath me a|gain the | great massy | strengths of abjstraction | 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 279 

So in p. 319 we have a line ending in the middle of ' col- 
lapse,' in 340 in the middle of 'enfolded.' Misplaced accent 
and disregard of quantity are illustrated in two lines of the 
above, and still more in the lines which follow, where I mark 
the quantities, as I suppose Clough to have read them. 

Two length [ways in the | midst for | keeper and | gillie and | peasant | 
Feudal | tenures | mercantile | lords, c6mpe|tition and | bishops | 
But S, nSw I thing was | in me and | longing dellicious pos|sessed me | 
Hither to | hideous | close, m6dSrn-]florid | modern-fIne|lady | 
Dishes and | fishes, bTrd, | beast and | sesquipejdalian | blackguard | 
Thii-dly, a | Cambridge | man I | knew, Smith, a | senior wrangler | ^ 
Pass sl6wly | o'er them, ye | days of Ocltober, ye | soft, misty ] mornings | 
Scarce by a | channel deep-|cut, rSging | up and | raging | onward | 
Doubtless some|where in some | neighbourhood | have, and are | careful 
to I keep, some | 

The first foot is frequently an iamb, sometimes an amphi- 
brach, or trochee with anacrusis : compare 

Ye Gods I what do I | want with this | rubbish of | ages dejparted ? | 

At last, I dearest Lou|isa, I | take up my | pen to ad| dress you | 

And surely | seldom have | Scotch and ] English more ] thoroughly [ 

mingled | 
However | so it must | be, and | after due | pause of | silence | 
The Nea|politan | army, and j thus exlplains the pro|ceeding | 
Would) mix in it|self with | me, and ) change me, I | felt myself | changing | 

In one line we have to admit anacrusis of two syllables, or 
to treat it as anapaestic with feminine ending : 

With a) mathe|matical | score hangs | out at | Inver|ary | 

I have observed two instances of final truncation ; one of 
which may be excused as a quotation : 

— The lions 
Roaring | after their | prey do | seek their | meat from | God a | 

The other, I think, must be a wrong reading : I should sug- 
gest the addition of ' him' after ' resist.' 

Laid her | hand on her | lap : Philip | took it ; she | did not rejsist A 

So he reltained her ] fingers, the | knitting being | stopped, but e|motion | 

1 Or perhaps this should be scanned 
Thirdly a | Cambridge | man I knew, | Smith, a | senior | wrangler | . 



280 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

It will be noticed that in the last line 'being' is treated as 
a short monosyllable. We find the same thing in pp. 209, 262. 

But while the | healths were being | drunk was | much tribu|lation and | 
trouble | 

Carrying | off and at | once for | fear of being | .seen, in the | bosom [ 
Locking-up | as in a | cupboard the | pleasure that | any man | gives them | . 

Similarly with other participles, as in p. 265 

But I keep | saying in my | mind, this | long time | slowly with | trouble | 
Eying through | eddying grSen | watera the | green-tinting | floor under) neath 
them I 

The following instances of slurring are even harsher : 

It was by | accident | purely I | lit on the place, | I was re|tuming j 

whether we assign ' place' to the 4th or 5th foot. 

Ye un I happy sta|tuettes and | miser | able | trinkets | 
See thy | children's | children, and | democracy up|on New-|zealand \ 
mister | Philip may it | never hereafter | seem to be | different! | 
Permeates | far and | pierces to the | very | cellars | lying in | 
Narrow, | high, back-llane and | court and | alley of | alleys | 

In two of these lines the final foot 'is either sluri'ed or a 
dactyl. For other examples see Amours, p. 302 

•Would to I heaven the old | Goths had | made a | cleaner | sweep of it | 
P my I tolerant | soul be | still, but you [ talk of bar|bariaus | 
Each has to | eat for himlself, di|gest for him|self and in | general | 
It is no I play but a | business. | Off go | teach and be | jiaid for it | 
Georgy de|clares it ab|surd, but Mam|ma is ajlarmed, and injsists he has | 
Taken up | strange o|pinions — 

The last license I will instance is the absence of caesura, 
as in 

Poor ala|baster | chimney-piece | ornaments | under glSss | cases | 
Highland | peasants gave | courteous | answer to | flattering | nobles | 

The stimulus which led to the writing of the Bothie came, 
as we have seen, from America. Its appearance in turn seems 
to have led Longfellow to employ in his later poem of Miles 
Standish a rougher metre than that of Evangeline, and Bret 
Harte's comic StagediHver's Story was probably modelled upon 
the Bothie. I quote a few lines 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER, 281 

Half-way | down the | Grade I | felt, Sir, a | thrilling and | creaking, | 
Then a | lurch to one | side, as we | hung on the | bank of the | canon, | 
Then looking | up the | road, I | saw in the | distance be|hind me | 
The) oft* hind | wheel of the | coach, just | loosed from its | axle and I 

following. I 
One glance a|lone I | gave, then | gathered to|gether my | ribbons, | 
Shouted, and | flung them out]spread on the | straining | necks of my i 

cattle ; | 
Screamed at the | top of my | voice, and j lashed the | air in my | fury, | 
While down the j Geiger [ Grade on | three whSels the | vehicle | thundered. | 

It is curious that Clough, after his great success in the 
accentual hexameter, should have been tempted to try a 'meta- 
phrase' from the Odyssey, constructed upon the ancient prin- 
ciple of quantity, ' so far as in our forward-rushing, consonant- 
crushing, Anglo-savage enunciation, long and short can in any 
kind be detected — quantity attended to in the first instance, 
and care also bestowed, in the second, to have the natural 
accents very frequently laid upon syllables which the metrical 
reading depresses.' For my own part I find these later hexa- 
meters of the author of the Bothie melancholy reading, as 
melancholy as the Bothie itself is delightful : compare Iliad I. 
(vol. II. p. 465) 

To re|press I | came if | • practic|able your | anger, | 
Out of I heaven, — the j goddess, the | white-armed | Hera, dejsired me, | 
Soliciltous for the | good of the | one ajlike and the | other. | 
Abstain | from vio|lence, put | back the | sword in the | scabbard, ] 
Let opiprobrious ] words, if | neceslsary rejquite him. | 

Actaeon (ib. p. 467) 

Artemis, | Arcadi|an wood-lrover, a|lone, hunt-|weary | 
Unto a I dell cen|tring many | streamlets | her foot un|erring | 
Had guijded. Plata|nus with | fig-tree | shaded a | hollow, | 
Shaded a | water|fall, where | j)ellulcid, yet ajbundant, | 
Streams from | perpetu|al full-|flowing | sources a | current. | 

The Lectures On Translating Homer, by Matthew Arnold, 
appeared in 1861. He maintains there (p. 77) that the metre 
which gives the best chance of preserving the general effect of 
Homer is the hexameter, whicli, 'whether alone or with the 
pentameter, possesses a movement, an expression, which no 
metre hitherto in common use among us possesses.' After 
praising Hawtrey's translation as the best which we have of 



282 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

any part of Homer, he goes on to speak of Clough's pastoral as 
in two respects more like the Iliad than any other English 
poem ; viz. ' in the rapidity of its movement, and the plainness 
and directness of its style.' ' Mr Clough's hexameters are ex- 
cessively, needlessly rough; still... his composition produces a 
sense in the reader, which Homer's composition also produces. . . 
the sense of having, within short limits of time, a large portion 
of human life presented to him, instead of a small portion.* 
'His poem... has some admirable Homeric qualities; out-of- 
door freshness, life, naturalness, buoyant rapidity' (p. 178). On 
the other hand, of Longfellow he says (p. 82), ' the merit of the 
manner and movement of Evangeline, when they are at their 
best, is to be tenderly elegant ; and their fault, when they are 
at their worst, is to be lumbering ; but Homer's defect is not 
lumberingness, neither is tender elegance his excellence. The 
lumbering effect of most English hexameters is caused by their 
being much too dactylic ; the translator must learn to use 
spondees freely. Mr Clough has done this, but he has not 
sufficiently observed another rule... and that is, to have no lines 
which will not read themselves.' 

In his own verse Arnold frequently uses the liberty for 
which he pleads in p. 151, of beginning the line with an iamb 
instead of a trochee ; riot, I think, with entire success. Com- 
pare p. 95 : 

In the I plain there were | kindled a | thousand | fires : by | each one | 

Thgre sat | fifty | men in the | ruddy | light of the | fire. | ^ 

By their j chariots | stood the | steeds and | champed the white | barley | 

and p. 97 : 

And with I pity the | son of | Saturn | saw them bejwailing | 

And hg I shook his | head and | thus ad|dressed his own | bosom ; | 

Ah, un|happy | pair, to | Peleus | why did we | give you, | 

T6 S, I mortal? but | ye are with|out old | age, and im|mortal. | 

Was it that | ye, with | man, might | have your | thousands of | sorrows? 

For than | man, in|deed, there | breathes no | wretcheder | creature | 

Of all I living | things, that on | earth are \ breathing and | moving | . 

^ Mr Spedding having suggested that this line must have been intended to 
be scanned with initial trochee, 'There sat,' Arnold declares (p. 251) that he 
means it to have the usual pronunciation, giving a rhythm which may be 
compared with Virgil's ' Vel6cea jaculo.' 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETEB. 283 

I prefer much the lines in which he adopts a more usual 
rhythm, such as 

In the I bloody | dust, bejneath the | feet of their | foemen. | 

Why dost thou | prophesy | so my | death to me, | Xauthus? It | needs 

not. 
I of mylself know | well, that | here I am | destined to | perish, | 
Far from my | father and | mother | dear : for | all that I | will not | 
Stay this | hand from | fight, till the | Trojans are | utterly | routed. | 

The only fault which I find here is the absence of the 
accent on ' that ' in the last line but one. 

Kingsley's Andromeda, composed in 1852, may, I think, be 
regarded as the most perfect example of the English hexameter. 
In a poem of more than 450 lines, I have not noticed any discord 
arising from false quantity or false accentuation. He indulges in 
none of the licenses of which we have seen instances in other 
hexameters ; and yet he knows how to preserve his verse from 
monotony by means of his skilful use of the caesura and varied 
combinations of dactyl, trochee and spondee ^ The following 
lines may be given as a specimen of his work. In the notes 
which follow I have pointed out the number of dactyls and the 
position of caesuras in each line. 

1. Slowly she | went by the | ledge ; and the | maid was a|lone in the | 

darkness, | 

2. Watching the | pulse of the | oars die | down, as her | own died | with 

them. I 

3. Tearless, | dumb with a|maze she | stood, as a | storm-stunned | nest- 

ling I 

4. Fallen from | bough or from | cave lies | dumb, which the | home- 

going I herdsman | 

5. Fancies a | stone, till he | catches the | light of its \ terrified | eyeball. | 

6. So through the | long long | hours the | maid stood | helpless and | 

hopeless, | 

7. Wide-eyed, | downward | gazing in j vain at the | black, blank | dark- 

ness. I 

8. Feebly at | last she be|gan, while \ wild thoughts | bubbled with|in 

her : | 

9. "Guiltless I | am : why | thus, then ? Are | gods more | ruthless 

than I mortals] | 

1 Kingsley's theory of the hexameter, if it may be so called, is given in his 
Life, vol. 1. pp. 338—349. 



284 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

10. "Have they no | mercy for | yOuthI n5 | love for the | souls who 

have I loved them ? | 

11. "Even as | I loved | thee, dread | sea, as I | played by thy | margin, | 

12. "Blessing thy | wave as it | cooled me, thy ] wind as it | breathed on 

my I forehead." | 

1. Has five dactyls. The principal caesura is after the 
accented syllable in the 3rd foot, which may be described as 
3rd foot masculine. There is a secondary caesura after 'slowly' 
(1st foot feminine), also after 'alone' (5th foot masculine). For 
the sake of brevity these will be denoted as 3 m., 1 f., o m. 
2. Three dactyls. Caes. after 'down' (4 m.). 3. Two dactyls. 
Caes. after 'stood' (4 m.); close of word and foot (for which I 
use the word closure) after 'tearless' (1 cl.). 4. Four 

dactyls. Caes. after 'dumb' (4 m.), secondary after 'cave' 
(3 m.). o. Five dactyls. Caes. after 'stooe' (2 m.), secondary 
after 'light' (4 m.). 6. Two dactyls. Caes. after 'hours' 

(3 m.), closure after 'stood ' (cl. 4). 7. Two dactyls. Caes. 

after 'vain' (4 m.), secondary after 'black' (5 m.) ; cl. after 
'wide-eyed' (cl. 1). 8. Three dactyls. Caes. after 'began' 

(3 m.), secondary after 'feebly' (1 f.) ; cl. after 'thoughts' (cl. 4). 

9. Three dactyls. Caes. after 'am' (2 m.) and 'then' (3 f). 

10. Four dactyls. Caes. after 'youth' (3 m.), secondary after 
'souls' (5 m.). 11. Three dactyls. Caes. after 'thee' (8 m.), 
and 'sea' (4 m.). 12. Five dactyls. Caes. after 'me' (3 f.), 
secondary after 'wave' (2 m.) and 'wind' (4 m.). 

It will be remembered that Arnold speaks of the lumbering 
effect of most English hexameters as being due to the excessive 
use of the dactyl. This is true, when the dactyl is clogged 
with false accents and false quantities, and woolly with harsh 
elisions, but not in the case of Kingsley's clean-cut measure. 
Arrowy swiftness is rather the quality of such lines as 

Fearing the | stars of the | sky, and the | roll of the | blue salt | water | 
Bounding from | billow" to | billow, and | sweeping the | crests like a | sea- 
gull I 

Tennyson's satire which follows is pointless for verses like 
these. But it is, I think, fully justified as a criticism on the 
quantitative hexameter. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 285 

These lame hexameters the strong-winged music of Homer ! 

No, but a most burlesque barbarous experiment. 
When was a harsher sound ever heard, ye Muses, in England ? 

When did a frog coarser croak upon our Helicon ? 
Hexameters no worse than daring Germany gave us : 

Barbarous experiment, barbarous hexameters. 

In 1866 Sir John Herschel brought out a translation of the 
Iliad in hexameters, from which I quote the following lines. 
The metre is correct, but with no special interest. 

How could I face the Trojans and long-robed matrons of Troia, 
If, like a dastard, I shrank aloof and avoided the battle ? 
Nor could my soul endure it ; for aye have I learnt to be foremost, 
Valiantly ever to dare and fight in the van of the Trojans, 
Winning renown for myself and my father's glory u])hokling. 

C. S. Calverley in 1868 wrote an interesting paper in oppo- 
sition to the theory that 'there could be no true translation of 
a Greek or Roman poet which did not reproduce his metre,' 
and shewed, as Clough had done before, that these metrical 
imitations are far from giving the effect of their originals. He 
has however not shrunk from trying his own hand at the 
hexameter, but, to my thinking, with only qualified success. 
Thus the lines from Lucretius which follow seem to me to be 
tame and characterless, as compared with the intensity of 
Munro's prose translation, and rhythmically to be monotonous 
and inharmonious, as compared with the ringing melody of 
Kingsley's verse. 

Statues of youth and of beauty may not gleam golden around him, 
(Each in his right hand bearing a great lamp lustrously burning. 
Whence to the midnight revel a light may be furnished always) ; 
Silver may not shine softly, nor gold blaze bright, in his mansion, 
Nor to the noise of the tabret his halls gold-coruicfed echo : — 
Yet still he, with his fellow, reposed on the velvety greensward, 
Near to a rippling stream, by a tall tree canopied over, 
Shalli though they lack great riches, enjoy all bodily pleasure. 
Chiefliest then, when above them a fair sky smiles, and the young year 
Flings with a bounteous hand over each green meadow the wild-flowers : — 
Not more quickly depart from his bosom fiery fevers, 
Who beneath crimson hangings and pictures cunningly broidered 
Tosses about, than from him who must lie in beggarly raiment. 



286 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

It will be noticed that, out of 13 lines, nine have caesura 
3 f. There is a similar monotony in the translation from the 
Iliad. 

These were the words of the King, and the old man feared and obeyed 
him : 

Voiceless he went by the shore of the great dull-echoing ocean, 
Thither he got him apart, that ancient man ; and a long prayer 
Prayed to Apollo, his Lord, son of golden -ringleted Leto : 

"Lord of the silver bow, thou whose arm girds Chryse and Cilia — 
Cilia beloved of the Gods — and in might sways Tenedos, hearken ! 
Oh ! if, in days gone by, I have built from floor unto cornice, 
Smintheus, a fair shrine for thee ; or burned in the flames of the altar 
Fat flesh of bulls and of goats ; then do this thing that I ask thee : 
Hurl on the Greeks thy shafts, that thy servant's tears be avengM." 

Here all the lines have caesura 3 m. I have marked two long 
syllables which are made short. 

In 1886 T. Ashe published an hexameter poem of domestic 
life, in which there is much beauty, but the rhythm is im- 
poverished by the paucity of dactyls and the predominance of 
the penthemimeral caesura (3 m.). Compare : 

On the I hillside | grew the | pines in | silence tojgether | 

Grand trunks straight and tall, that flushed blood-red in the sunset; 

Yet the sun, in splendour flashing down from its zenith, 

Could not pierce the dense and twisted screen of the branches : 

They, that rocked in storm and madly howled in the winter. 

Now were calm and still, or only swayed in a whisper. 

Perhaps there is more of variety in the lines which follow : 

Much is I changed and | unchanged | fn the | village of | Orton, | 
New -cut I names, new | mounds be|side the ] tower or the | chancel ; | 
Some, long | sad, are | happy ; | some are | sad, who were | merry. | 
Bells of I joy, of | dole, have | thrilled the | air of the | valley. | • 
Feet, now | many a | day tired | 6f the | stones and the | plodding, | 
Rest at I last and | ache not, be|neath the | green of the | hillocks ; | 
Feet of I small new-|comers | roam in the | grass of the | meadows. | 

The latest hexameters known to me are the lines entitled 
After Defeat, by Mr William Watson, published in 1899, the 
Translatiotis of the Iliad contained in A Reading of Life, by 
George Meredith, published in 1901, and those by Mr William 
Johnson Stone, appended to an Essay On the Use of Classical 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 287 

Metres in English, which appeared in 1899. Of the first the 
following may be taken as a specimen : 

Pray, what | chorus is | this ? At the | tragedy's ] end what | choras ] | 
Surely be| wails it the \ brave, the un| happily | starred, the a|bandoned | 
Sole unto | fate, by | yonder in | vincible | kin of the | vanquished? | 
Surely sa|lutes it the | fallen, not | mocks the an|tagonist | prostrate ? | 

of the second the following: 

Nay, as a | pillar re| mains im] movable, | fixed on the | tombstone | 
Haply of I some dead | man, or it j may be a | woman there- 1 under ; j 
Even like | hard stood they | there, at|tached to the | glorious | war-car, | 
Earthward | bowed with their | heads ; and of | them so la|menting in-| 

cessant | 
Ran the hot | tear-drops |' downward [ on to the I earth from their | eyelids, | 
Mourning their | chario|teer ; 3.11 their | lustrous | manes diisty-|clotted | 
Right side and | left of the | yoke-ring | tossed to the | breadth of the j 

yoke-bow | 

Mr Stone, while allowing the legitimacy of the accentual 
hexameter, and confessing that Southey's metre ' has borne 
fruit, some of it well worth producing,' insists that it has no 
right to be compared with the classical hexameter, and is quite 
unfit to represent Homer. What he really delights in is the 
quantitative hexameter. For examples of this he refers to 
Stanyhurst's Virgil, from which he quotes 

And the go|desse Ju|no full | freight with | poysonM | envye | 
With thunjdrmg lightjnings my | carcase | strongly be[blasted | 

He also quotes from Clough's Actaeon, and from Spedding. 
Of the metre of the last he says ' I am confident that he has a 
perfect right to claim that it is exactly like Virgil's in effect. 
But he is also right in saying that Virgilian hexameters are 
almost impossible in English.' Mr Stone would therefore go 
back straight to the fountain-head and model our metre not on 
the Latin but on the Greek. ' I believe that our language is 
singularly like ancient Greek in intonation.' He explains this 
by saying that 'the ordinary unemphatic English accent' may 
be defined like the Greek accent, as 'a raising of pitch and 
nothing more.' There is something pathetic in the combined 
earnestness and hopelessness with which he urges this and 
other points. ' I know I shall be looked upon as insane.' ' It 



288 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

is, I know, too much to expect that I have carried any one 
with me so far as this.' He refers to ' the unfortunate fact 
that the opinions expressed are such as no one else thinks or 
believes,' and confesses that his ' appeals are made without any 
sort of confidence to unsympathetic readers.' ' But I shall 
really be rewarded... if I have induced any one to agree with 
me that there is no other way... but to bind ourselves with a 
strict prosody, and to conform to the rules of the metre we are 
engaged with.'...' No one need agree with me on any single 
point of prosody, but a strict prosody there must be, if the 
lattempt is to have any sure basis at all.' He then gives 
various rules of quantity, which 'do not aim at any sort of 
completeness,' but 'are simply points which have occasioned 
me difficulty, and which I have had to decide for myself. 
There may be many things which have not occurred to me, 
and many of my conclusions to which exception will be taken.' 

Mr Stone does not seem to be quite consistent on the 
subject of quantity. In p. 4 he says ' English words have a 
distinct quantity, to any one who will attend to it, and if pro- 
nounced accurately ' ; (p. 10) ' In my opinion there are only 
three monosyllables with open vowels that may be scanned 
short, and they only because they are proclitics... a, to, and the. 
Yet all writers have made use of the extraordinary license of 
allowing such words to be common or even short. Even 
Tennyson has my and he short'; (p. 18) 'Most of us are still 
under the impression that we may scan a vowel long or short 
as we will '; (p. 50) ' If readers cannot have the ordinary accent 
emphasizing the metre, they pine at least for unquestionably 
long syllables. This desire is quite unreasonable, because the 
gradations of quantity are infinite and there are syllables which 
may be long or short at will' ; yet (p. 20) 'even for quantitative 
verse the intention of the writer must never be in doubt, nor, I 
maintain, is it, if rules of prosody be strictl}'^ observed.' In 
p. 43 he speaks of ' the extreme difficulty of writing such 
(quantitative) verse, and the bar it would be to any freedom of 
thought.... A beginner would find his path as thickly strewn 
with thorns as that of a boy learning Latin verses. He would 
make false quantities far more ghastly, and his tongue would 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 289 

refuse, quite rightly, to shift the accent on to the long syllable. 
...But practice and severe correction will in the end, I believe, 
make the rules of metre very little more galling than the rules 
of rhyme, and the feeling of victory even more enchanting. The 
quantity of the word will be felt at once.' 

We now turn to the examples by which Mr Stone illustrates 
his theory of the hexameter. A poet might make quantity his 
guiding principle without causing any great difficulty to the 
ordinary English reader, provided that, like Tennyson in his 
classical metres, he took care not to oppose accent to quantity ; 
but Mr Stone will have none of such cowardly compromises: he 
rejoices in the 'combative accent' (pp. 9, 24). Of former ex- 
periments he selects for special praise Clough's Pentameters in 
the lines which follow : 

Towns hamlets leaving, towns by thee, bridges across thee, 
Pass to palace garden, pass to cities populous. 

Murmuring once, dimpling, 'mid woodlands wandering idly, 
Now with mighty vSssels loaded, a mighty river. 

and his Actaeon, of which we may take as a specimen 

— swiftly revealing 
Her mai|denly b5|som and | all her | beauty bejneath it, | 
To th6 rl|ver w&tSr | overjflowing | to re|ceive her | ^ 
Yielded her | ambrosi|al na|kedness. 

The following are his directions for reading his own hexa- 
meters. ' What do I require of my readers ? I ask them to 
read my verses slowly, with the natural accent unimpaired, and 
with such stress as they think right on the long syllables by 
way of ictus. This will probably at first fail to give them any 
idea of the rhythm....! would ask them then to combine voice- 
duration with voice-stress on such syllables, to exaggerate the 
length. Finally in very stubborn cases, if this plan fails, I ask 
them to read them as a schoolboy reads Virgil, with voice- 
pitch, voice-stress, and voice-duration all concentrated on the 
long syllable. Thence they may work back to the first process, 
that of emphasizing the rhythm by stress only.' ' The under- 
lying principle of my rhythm is, I think, compensation. You 

^ I suppose Clough must have scanned it thus, as he makes the first syllable 
of • river ' short in the preceding quotation. 

M. M. 19 



290 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

are required to balance the accent and the quantity, the accen- 
tual variety being based on quantitative uniformity.' 

In the lines which follow I begin by marking the stress, as 
I suppose it to have been intended by the author; and then 
add other lines on which the reader may exercise his own 
ingenuity. 

Unyoked [ from thS wSglgons, drivgn | off to the | bindweed | pastui'es | 
By the rush|ing s\virl|ing rTvSr, | and the wo|men set a|bout it | 
Then with an|ointing of | oil they | washed, and | on the ri|ver-bank | 
Took their | meal, the lin|en dryjing there | In the sun | hard by. | 
White-armed | Nausicaja Iead|lng the meajsure to the | players | 
As the iir|row-scS,tter)ing gOddSss | Artemis | hunts on a | hill-side | ' 
Glorying ] in the rS.p|ld-fo5ted | hinds and | hardy-fo5t|ed boai's | 
None so | tall, but | she stands | leader a)mong them heSd | and brow. | 

Then they shouted aloud, and great Odysseus was awakened, 
And sitting up pondei-ed in his heart and doubted in his mind : 

'Ah me, in what country, to what manner of men am I come? 
Is this people a race cruel, savage, impious, unjust?' 

So saying did great Odysseus quit his homely dwelling-place, 
From the thick undergrowth with his huge hand breaking a branch oft" 
So went he, as in his might trusting a hill-bred lion : 
And to him on this wise perplexed seemed it the better way 
Standing apart to address words of supplication, honied words ^. 

I conclude with a few words on the pentameter, consisting 
of two dactylic peuthemimers, i.e. of two sections, each contain- 
ing two dactyls followed by a long syllable. To my mind this 

1 I think this must be the scansion intended, as Mr Stone (p. 9) dilates on 
the blunder of " making a vowel followed by a doubled consonant long by 
position." "Why should the first syllable of 'hitting' be longer than 'hit'? 
The doubling of a letter in English has no other purpose than the marking of 
the preceding vowel as short." 

2 While I am opposed to Mr Stone's general principle, I have found much 
that is interesting and instructive in his incidental remarks. I observe that he 
attributes to me on more than one occasion an opinion from which I entirely 
dissent, that "the ancients were like children, who, as soon as they get a rhythm 
into their heads, love to emphasize it ; and that the classical metres are more 
elementary than ours " (pp. 6, 49). He has apparently misunderstood my 
paragraph on the routine scansion (p. 6 above) where I quote Buskin on his 
own childish scanning, and afterwards refer to the traditional language of the 
poets about the Muse singing, as bearing witness to a time long anterior, in 
which metre was still a kind of sing-soug. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 291 

is far less suited to the English language than the hexameter, 
mainly because it is difficult to prevent the long syllable, which 
closes the two sections of the line, from being also a monosyl- 
lable. Thus Coleridge's line, which stands at the head of this 
chapter, is spoilt by the sort of snap with which it closes in the 
word ' back.' Tennyson improves on this at the expense of the 
first line in his corrected couplet : 

Up springs hexameter with might as a fountain arisetli : 
Lightly the fountain falls, lightly the pentameter. 

I think the elegiacs which please me most are Whewell's on 
the death of his wife, which are given in the Appendix to the 
Memoir, p. 537 f. 

Solemn and sad folds round me the darkening eve of the sabbath : 
Solemn as often of old, sad with a fresh-fallen grief. 

Blessed beyond all blessings that life can embrace in its circle, 
Blessed the gift was when Providence gave thee to me, 

Gave thee gentle and kindly and wise, calm, clear-seeing, thoughtful, 
Thee to me, as I was, vehement, passionate, blind : 

Gave me to see in thee, and wonder I never had seen it. 

Wisdom that shines in the heart clearer than intellect's light. 

Vainly till then had I roved the land from mansion to mansion : 
Pleasure and kindness I foimd, found not the love that I sought. 

Vainly had I explored the long-flowing river of Science, 
Back to its fountain-heads, down to its glittering sea. 

Thus we parted, diverse how far om* paths and our portions ! 

She to the Saviour's embrace, I to the wearisome world. 
I to the wearisome world to toil all lonely and helpless : 

Yet not lonely quite, her since I bear in my heart : 
Yet not helpless quite, for thy companionship, dear one. 

Still shall lend me its help, guiding and raising me still. 

There in the beautiful land, the land of the lake and the mountain, 
There where the loveliest lake lies in the loveliest vale. 

"With these may be compared Clough's elegiacs in the 
Amours de Voyage — 

19—2 



292 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

Is it illusion ? or does there a spirit from i)erfecter ages, 

Here, even yet, amid loss, change, and corruption, abide I 
Does there a spirit we know not, though seek, though we find, com- 
prehend not. 

Here to entice and confuse, tempt and evade us, abide ? 
Lives in the exquisite grace of the column disjointed and single. 

Haunts the rude masses of brick garlanded gaily with vine, 
E'en in the turret fantastic surviving that springs from the ruin, 

E'en in the people itself? is it illusion or no? 

Sometimes Clough is very careless of quantity and accent, 
as in the commencing lines of Canto I. 

Over the great windy waters and over the clear-crested summits. 

Unto the sun and the sky [and] unto the perfecter earth, 
Come let us go — to a land wherein gods of the old time wandered, 

Where every breath even now changes to ether divine. 
Come let us go, though with|al a voice | whisper, the | world that we 
live in. 

Whithersoever we turn, still is the same narrow crib ; 
'Tis but to prove limitation, and measure a cord, that we travel ; 

Let who would 'scape and be free, go to his chamber and think; 
'Tis but to change fdle fancies for memories wilfully falser ; 

'Tis 'but to go and have been.' — Come, little bark, let us go. 

It will be observed that the word which I have bracketed 
in the 2nd line is extra-metrical. I do not know whether this 
is owing to any accidental carelessness, or whether Clough 
really meant to substitute a spondee, trochee, or dactyl, for the 
monosyllable at the close of the 1st section of the pentameter. 
I am inclined to think such a measure would be more suited to 
the English ear than the regular Latm metre*. We might then 
describe the English elegiac metre as consisting of six trochees 
with dactylic or spondaic substitution, the pentameter line 
always closing with two dactyls and a truncated trochee. The 
lines quoted by Schipper (vol. ii. p. 450), as a specimen of 
elegiacs, from Swinburne's Hesperia might at first sight seem 
to follow this rule. 

Out of the I golden re| mote wild | west, where the | sea without I shore is, | 
Full of the I sunset, and | sad, if at | all, with the | fullness of | joy. A 

1 I am glad to find that this view is shared by Mr Haines in N. and Q. cited 
above, as well as by Dr Abbott. 



THE HEXAMETER AND PENTAMETER. 293 

But the lines which follow shew that the metre is not dactylic, 
but anapaestic, thus' : 

As a wind I sets in | with the au|tumn that blows | from the re|gion of 

sto(ries, 
A Blows I from a per|fume of songs | and of memfries belov'd I from a 

boy I 
A Blows ] from the capes | of the past | oversea | to the bays | of the 

pres(ent 
A Filled | as with sliadlow of sound | with the pulse | of invisjible feet | . 

We have however a real example of the truncated or cata- 
lectic hexameter in the late Lord Bowen's translation of Virgil, 
published in 1887, of which the following lines may be taken 
as a specimen : 

Death's dark gates stand open, alike through the day and the night, 

But to retrace thy steps and emerge to the sunlight above, 

This is the toil and the trouble. A few whom Jupiter's love 

Favours, or whose bright valour has raised them thence to the skies, 

Born of the gods, have succeeded : — 

Still, if such thy desire, and if thus thy spirit inclines 

Twice to adventure the Stygian lake, twice look on the dark 

Tartarus, and it delights thee on quest so wild to embark, 

Learn what first to perform : — 

I will close with some fine elegiacs by Mr William Watson 
taken from the poem entitled Hymn to the Sea (1899) 

Man with inviolate caverns, impregnable holds in his nature, 

Depths no storm can pierce, pierced with a shaft of the sun : 
Man that is galled with his confines, and burdened yet more with his 
vastness, 
Bom too great for his ends, never at peace with his goal : 
* * * * 

Nought, when the harpers are harping, untimely reminds him of durance ; 

None, as he sits at the feast, whispers Captivity's name; 
But would he parley with Silence, withdrawn for a while unattended, 

Forth to the beckoning world 'scape for an hour and be free, 

Lo, his adventurous ftincy coercing at once and provoking, 
Rise the unscalable walls built with a word at the prime ; 

Lo, immobile as statues, with pitiless faces of iron, 
Armed at each obstinate gate stand the impassable guards. 

^ See above, on Metrical Metamorphosis, ch. vi. pp. 8-1 foil. 



294 ON ENGLISH METRE. 



APPENDIX A. 

M. Gaston Paris, Mr H. Nicol, and Prof. Paul Mkyer on the 
Old French Decasyllabic Metre. 

Extract from M. Gaston Paris's edition of La Vie de Saint 
Aleosis, po^me du XT* siecle (Paris, 1872), p. 131 : — 

" Le vers a dix syllabes au minimum ; il pent en avoir onze 
ou douze si I'hemistiche^ et le vers ont^ une terminaison feminine. 
II y a done quatre types: 1° vers de dix syllabes, raasculins a 
I'hemistiche et k la rime: || Ja mdis \ niert tels \\ comfit \ as 
an\ceisdrs ||; 2° vers de onze syllabes, masculins k I'hdmistiche, 
f^minins k la rime: || Sor toz \ ses pers || I'amdt | li em\peredre ||; 
3° vers de onze syllabes, feminins a I'hemistiche, masculins k la 
rime: || Enfdnt | nos done || qui sSit \ a ton \ talent li; 4° vers de 
douze syllabes, fi^minins a I'hemistiche et k la rime : il Done li \ 
remembret || de so7i \ seindr \ celeste ||. Le vers est done un 
dScasyllabe, pouvant avoir une syllabe de plus, n6cessairement 
atone, apres la quatri^rae et apres la dixieme... Le d4- 
casyllabe apparait pour la premiere fois dans le poeme de 
Bofece, ou il a exactement le meme caractere que dans le 
n6tre ; c'est aussi le vers du Roland et de la plupart des 
anciennes chansons de geste. Le vers est toujours tres- 
exactement fait, et toutes les syllabes comptent:...poiir savoir 
...la juste mesure il faut tenir compte des cas ou se produit 
Velision." 

" I have marked the feet and hemistiche ; and put an acute 
over the accented words and syllables, a grave over the extra 
unaccented syllable. M. Paris does not state — it being generally 
known — that the second syllable of the second and fifth feet 
must be accented. Words ending in a syllable with unaccented 
e have the accent on the one before it; all others on the last. 
The accents in the other feet (always disyllabic) are not tixed ; 
the cesura is always after the second foot. 

^ "Cette denomination est admise, bien qa'k la rigueur elle soit inexacte." 



APPENDIX A. 295 

" The poem on Boethius is of the tenth century, and is the 
oldest Provenyal work of which a fragment has been preserved; 
here are two lines (from Bartsch's Chrestomathie Provengale, 
2' edition, Elberfeld, 1868, p. 1): 

Pro non | es g^igre |{, si pe!neden | za 'n pren ||. 
No cre|det d^u || lo n6s|tre cre|ator ||. 

There are no feminine rhymes ; in the first example the e of en 
is elided after the preceding a. 

" The Chanson de Roland is eleventh century, rather later 
than the Alexis, and its versification is just the same (Th. MuUer's 
edition of the Oxford MS., Gottingen, 1863, p. 1, 2): 

Cdrles | li reis ||, nostre em|perelre mdgnfe ||. 
II eii I apelfet || e ses | dfix e | ses cdntfes ||. 
Blancan[drfns fdt || des plus | salves | paidns ||. 
De vasjseldgfe || fut | ajsez che|valer ||. 

The first of these has the unaccented e of nostre elided before 
the following vowel, as usual." [H. N.] 

[Prof. Paul Meyer of Paris has most kindly sent me the fol- 
lowing remarks in reference to some queries made as to the 
above. 

" The short paragraph of G. Paris, with H. Nicol's additions, 
does not profess to give a complete idea of the French decasyl- 
labic verse, but is correct, so far as it goes. In French versifi- 
cation there is no fixed place for the accent except at the end 
of the line and, in long verses, about the middle of the line. 
There are three distinct forms of the decasyllabic verse, (1) that 
in which the accents fall on the 4th and 10th syllables, (2) that 
in which they fall on the oth and 10th, (3) that in which they 
fall on the Oth and 10th. These forms are never found com- 
bined in one poem, as they are in the Italian, where the hende- 
casyllable may have the middle accent on the 4th or on the Oth 
syllable indiiferently in the same poem. The Alexandrine 
verse has always the accent on the 6th and 12th syllables. In 
lines under ten syllables no accent has a fixed place but the 
one which marks the end of the verse, always admitting an 
unaccented syllable after it (the feminine rime). Very ancient 
French poetry does however admit generally an accent on the 



296 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

4th syllable in octosyllabic verse (see G. Pai-is in Romania I. 
294). But this accent on the 4th syllable of the octosyllabic 
verse does not require a pause after it, as would be the case in 
longer vei'ses. 

" That Shakespeare's vei se has its origin in the French deca- 
syllabic verse was proved long ago by Zarncke, the Leipzig pro- 
fessor, in his essay Ueber den funffilssigen Iambus niit besonderer 
Rucksicht auf seine Behandlung durch Lessing, Schiller und 
Goethe (Leipzig, 1865)."] 

It may be of interest to some of my readers if I insert 
here a short abstract of Zamcke's essay, which is now out of 
print, and of which, as far as I know, the copy which has come 
into my hands, since the preceding chapters were written, is 
the only one to be seen in England. At any rate it is not in 
the British Museum or in the Cambridge University Library. 
It is of importance as giving the views of one of the most 
competent of German metrists on the origin of the heroic line, 
together with a specimen of his metrical analysis as applied 
to the poetry of Lessing and Schiller. The German title adds 
und Goethe, but the metre of the last is only just touched on in 
the concluding pages (88 — 93). 

Zarncke begins by lamenting the indifference shewn by 
German scholars in regard to the metres employed by their 
greatest poets. Germans have done much to illustrate the 
metres of the ancients, but Koberstein, he says, is almost the 
only historian of literature who has paid any attention to their 
own verse. To judge aright of the blank verse of Lessing, 
Schiller and Goethe we must have some knowledge of the 
previous history of the 5-foot iambic. The earliest specimen of 
this is a Provencal poem on Boethius belonging to the first half 
of the 10th century. We have no ground for tracing the metre 
back either to the Greek 5-foot iambic or 5-foot trochaic with 
anacrusis, nor to the Latin hendecasyllabic, which is quite 
opposed to it in rhythm. We can say no more of it than that 
it was in all probability the ordinary metre of the Romance 
epic and spread from France into other countries^ The best 
* See however my Preface, p. viii. 



APPENDIX A. 297 

account of it is that by Diez in his Altrom. Sprachdenkmalen , 
Bonn, 1846. The oldest form has always the masculine ending, 
the caesura after the 2nd foot, and a decided pause both at the 
caesura and at the end of the line. Very frequently the caesura 
is feminine (i.e. the 1st section ends with a superfluous syllable) 
and the initial unaccented syllable of the 2nd section is omitted. 
Thus we obtain the following scheme «-/-v./-(v/)||(v/)-w-<.^- 
giving rise to four diflferent kinds of verse, according as the 
caesura is masculine or feminine, and the 2nd section complete 
or truncated \ 

Enfdnts | en dfes|| forcn | ome | fell6 | 
Qu'el e|ra c6ms |1 Am61t | onrdz | e rfx | 
Nos j6|ve 6m|ne || quandiiis | que n6s | estdm | 
Donz f<5 I Bod|cis 1| A corps | ag b6 | e pr6 | 

In the Alexius and Song of Roland, dating from the 11th 
century, we meet with examples of feminine ending, as 

Faites | la guer|re || cum v6s | I'av^z | emprf|se 

though this is rarely found in conjunction with feminine caesura 
or sectional truncation, sufficient variety being produced by the 
superfluous syllable at the end. 

In other poems of the same date we find the caesura, 
masculine and feminine, after the 3rd foot. From about the 
middle of the 12th century, the 5-foot verse gave place to the 
4-foot and 6-foot (Alexandrine), but was still retained for lyric 
poetry, undergoing however two changes : (1) the caesura, which 
occurs regularly after the 4th syllable, was treated simply as a 
metrical, not a logical pause, (2) the preceding accent was often 
thrown back or inverted, making the 2nd foot a trochee, as 

Bona I d6mna || per cui | plane e | sospir | 

Diez calls this the 'lyrical' caesura, in contrast to the earlier 
' epic ' caesura. 

Later on, all the accents, except the last, became liable to 
inversion, as 

Bdlha I d(5mua || vdlham | v6stra | val6rs | 

^ For the sake of brevity I have used here my own symbols and terminology. 

19—5 



298 ON ENGLISH METRE, 

thus giving the following scheme 



— I — II - I - I 

_syl_w|l— vy| — v/ 



From 1500 the feminine caesura disappears altogether owing 
to the growing weakness of the final e. The more regular form 
of the 5-foot iambic became known as the vers cornmuu and was 
employed by Ronsard for epic and by Jodelle for tragedy. By 
the end of the 16 th century, however, there was a reaction in 
favour of the Alexandrine, the stiff monotony of the rhyming 
5-foot with its fixed pauses after the 4th and 10th syllables 
being felt to be unsuitable for the more animated styles of 
poetry \ 

The Italian hendecasyllabic metre had been developed out 
of the Proven9al lyric poetry long before it was made famous by 
Dante. It differs from the French in the constant feminine 
ending (a), the freedom of the caesura which may be either 
masculine or feminine, and either after the 2nd or 3rd foot (6), 
the use of enjambement, i.e. the absence of a final pause, so as 
to allow one verse to run on into another (c), the transposition of 
the accent in any foot except the last, but especially in the 4th 
foot (d), as 

Le Don|ne i | Cavalier || 1' drme | gli amo|re 

This freedom of rhythm is accompanied by greater freedom 
in the rhyme, so as to connect together not merely two con- 
secutive lines but whole stanzas. 

In England the 5-foot iambic has played a more im- 
portant part than in any other country. Introduced probably 
by Chaucer from France at the beginning of the 15th century, 
by the middle of the 16th it succeeded in throwing off the fetters 
of rhyme, and became the blank verse of the English drama and 
epic. The use of the feminine ending and of transposition of 
accent was however more restricted than in Italy. 

In Germany we find examples of the 5-foot iambic closing 
a four-foot stanza as early as the 12th century^ It was 

' See Ebert, Enticicklungsgeschichte der franzdsischen Tragiidie, Gotba, 1856. 
* See Lachmann's Preface to his edition of Wolfram, p. xxviii. 



APPENDIX A. 299 

probably borrowed from the Proven9al, but is much freer as to 
the use of the caesura, which sometimes disappears altogether. 
This freedom continued in spite of the growing influence of 
French poetry during the 16th century, till Martin Opitz (d. 
1639) laid down the law that there must always be a caesura 
after the 4th syllable. Gottsched, writing in 1737, is very 
severe on those who break this law, and ' place the caesura any- 
where or nowhere,' probably said in reference to such poems 
as Bodmer's translations from Thomson. The Anglicized form 
however continued to grow in popularity; thus J. H. Schlegel 
(1757) announces his intention to adopt the licenses allowed in 
English, and while distinguishing three caesuras (after the 4th, 
5th and 6th syllables) says it is not necessary for every line to 
have the caesura. Wieland (1762) was the first to substitute 
anapaests and trochees for the iamb. Klopstock in the Preface 
to hia Salomo says he has interspersed 6-foot and hendecasyllabic 
lines among the regular 5-foot, that he substitutes anapaest for 
iamb wherever he finds it convenient, and that he often ends 
a line with an ionic, 8rd paean or pyrrhic. Herder wrote in 
favour of the use of the English metre for the drama in 1768, 
and Lessing employed it in his Nathan in 1778. He intersperses 
freely 6-foot and 4-foot lines, makes the superfluous syllable of 
the 'feminine ending' equal in weight to the preceding accented 
syllable, elides short final e before a vowel or h, sometimes 
before a consonant as ohji dieses, nehm sich, and even at the 
end of the line, as und bring' | Ihn her. More important are 
the changes he introduced in regard to the length of his periods 
and the use of the caesura. At first, as still in France, each 
5-foot line was complete in itself, but the Italians and still more 
the English had led the way in connecting lines by enjambe- 
ment and building them up into long periods. In Nathan we 
meet with periods extending over as many as 27 lines. These 
are artfully combined with shorter periods, and the verses are 
marked by the antagonism between the sense (logic) and metre, 
and by the boldness of the enjambement. Thus the end of the 
line comes between subject and predicate, as in Babylon \ 1st von 
Jerusalem — sagt | Ber Patriarch; between adjective or article 
and noun, as die strengsten j Entschlusse — jnein j Gewissen — 



300 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

der I Bescheidne Ritter — ich im \ Begriff war ; between prepo- 
sition and noun, as durch \ Das Feuer — von \ Euch ; and other 
closely related words as, Pilger zn \ Geleiten — so \ Unendlich viel 
— zu stiirmen und \ Zu schirmen — er wandelt wieder auf I Und 
ab — ganz | Gewiss — will | Ihm danken — sagt wie j Gefdllt euch. 
Besides this, Lessing takes pains to break the rhythm of the 
individual line by a pause shortly after the beginning or before 
the end, as 

— wie? weil 
Es ganz naturlich ; ganz alltaglich klange. 

—1st 
Ein alter Eindnick ein verlorner? Wirkt 
Das Nehmliche nicht mehr das Nehmliche? 

Um lieber etwas uoch unglaublichers 
Zu glauben — 

Sometimes the latter section of a preceding line joins with the 
earlier section of the following line to make a perfect 5-foot, as 

— Dass doch 
Die Einfalt immer Recht behalt ! Ihr diirft 
Mir doch auch wohl vertrauen — 

The line is also frequently broken by being divided between 
different persons. It is only at the end of the period that the 
antagonism of logic and metre is reconciled. 

The caesura is needed to give variety to a line which is 
complete in itself, but may be dispensed with in a line so much 
varied as Lessing's. We are not therefore surprised to meet 
with lines of his which have no caesura or pause of any kind. 

Schiller at first wrote his plays in prose, but in 1786 began 
to employ the 5-foot iambic as modified by Lessing, thus 

Ich driick' an meine Seele dich. Ich fuhle 
Die deinige allmachtig an mir schlagen. 
O jetzt ist alles wieder gut. In dieser 
Umarmung ist mein krankes Herz genesen. 

He often uses 4-foot and 6-foot lines and occasionally 7-foot. 
He is even bolder than Lessing in his use of the monosyllable 
in feminine ending, as Freund mehr, warum nicht. Elision is 
rare, except where a monosyllabic pronoun follows the verb, when 



APPENDIX A. 301 

it occurs even at the end of a line, as was wollf | Ich denn. 
In length of period and enjamhement he follows Lessing. As 
examples of the latter we may take du hist \ Gerettet — ich \ Ver- 
gesse — er \ Verachtet es — mein games \ Verdienst — im linken 
Flugel des \ Palastes. He neglects the caesura and divides the 
line between different speakers. In Wallenstein (1798) we find 
further freedom in the length of the line, varying from 7-foot 
to 1-foot, and in the use of anapaests and trochees, the former 
in all the feet but especially in the last, the latter only in the 
1st foot. Slurring is also employed. As examples of harshness 
in the use of feminine ending and of enjamhement may be cited 
vorm I Feind liegt — zu | Mir drang — K&iri j Wort mehr — ; es war 
der drei \ Und zwanzigste des Mai's — wenn der Nachtuch auf-\ 
gesetzt — eh' die Glucks-\Gestalt mir wieder wegflieht. The lines 
however preserve their individuality better than in Lessing, and 
are less often divided between different speakers. 

In Marie Stuart and Jungfrati von Orleans anapaestic sub- 
stitution is very frequent, but enjamhement and feminine ending 
are less used ; rhyme is more common, the verbal and metrical 
accents are often opposed. In Schiller's two last dramas Braut 
von Messina and Wilhelm Tell the characteristic feature is the 
extended use of the trochee, not merely at the beginning but in 
the middle of the line, as 

Und du I bist falsch | wie sie ! | zwi'nge | mich nicht | . 

The duke Carl August complains of this license in a letter 
to Goethe. In other respects however these latest plays are 
more regular than the earlier ^ 

1 Those who ai'e interested in the historical development of Enghsh Metres 
will find it worth their while to read a paper by Prof. W. P. Ker on the 
Analogies between English and Spanish Verse, printed for the Philological 
Society in 1899. 



302 ON ENGLISH METRE. 



APPENDIX B. 

Technical Terms of Greek and Latin Metres'. 

The following are all the combinations of long and short 
syllables, which are called feet, and which have distinctive 
names : 

Of two Syllables : 
Pyrrhichius ^ ^ 

Iambus w - 

Trochaeus | 

or S^ - V 

Choreus ] 

Spandaeus — 

Of three Syllables : 
Trihrachys 
Dactylus 
Anapaestus 
Amphibrachys 
Creticus 
fiacchlus 
Antibacchlus 
Molossus 

Of four Syllables 

Proceleusmaticus ^ 

Paeon primus 

secvndus <^ - w ^ 

tertius ^ ^^ - ■^^ 

qvnrtus 

lonicus a minore 

a majore — ^ ^ 

^ Adapted from Donaldson's Latin Grammar. 



\j \j \^ 



— \j \j 



v/ w — 



V/ — \J 



\J \J \J 



<-» w <-» 
\^ \J — 



— '^ — 



APPENDIX B. 303 

Diiamhus w - w - 

Ditrochaeus _ ^^ _ w 

Choriambus (i.e. 
Trochaeus + iambus) 
Antispastus 
Epitritus primiis 

secundus 

tertius — ^ - 

quartus ^ 

Dispondaeus 

There are only two kinds of proper feet or distinct and 
primitive rhythpis. 

(a) The equal rhythms, in which one long syllable is 
opposed to two short, so that the ratio is i; these are 

Dactylus, ' the dactyl,' - >./ v^ ; as viun^rdi ; 

Anapaestus, 'the anapaest,' «-/ v^ -; as l^pides. 

(b) The double rhythms, in which a long and a short 
syllable are opposed, so that the ratio is ^ ; these are 

Trochaeus, ' the trochee,' - «^ ; as musdi ; 
Iambus, ' the iambus,' ^ - ; as dmas. 

To these may be added the representative feet; i.e. the 
spondaeus or ' spondee,' which represents the equal rhythm by 
two long syllables, as dlcunt, and the tribrachys or ' tribrach,' 
which represents the double rhythm by three short syllables, 
as br^vibUs. 

Each simple foot has two parts, one of which is said to 
have the ictus (stress) upon it and is called arsis, the other 
part is called thesis. In Dactylic and Trochaic verse the arsis^ 
is on the first part of each foot. In Anapaestic and Iambic 
on the last. 

It is essential to the harmony of a line that some one or 
more of its feet should be divided between two different words. 
This division is called caesura or 'cutting.' There are two 
kinds of caesura — the masculine, str'ong, or monosyllabic caesura, 
when only the first syllable of the foot is in the preceding 



304 ON ENGLISH METRE. 

word ; and the feminine, weak, or trochaic caesura,, where the 
first two syllables of a dactyl are in the preceding word, and 
the remaining short syllable in the word which follows. Thus 
in the following line we have strong caesuras in the second and 
fourth feet, and weak caesura in the third place : 

Formosam \ resonare \ doces \ Amaryllida silvas. 

If a word is so placed in a verse as to coincide with a 
metrical foot, we have a diaeresis, which is the opposite of the 
caesura ; thus there is a diaeresis in the first and fifth feet of 
the following line of Virgil : 

Lumina \ lahentem caelo quae \ ducitis \ annum. 

Half a foot is technically called a hemimer {rjfjLifiepef;), and 
caesuras, which take place in the middle of the second, third, 
fourth and fifth feet respectively, are called trihemimeral, pen- 
themimeral, hephthemimeral and ennehemimeral caesuras. 

The term ' metre ' besides its general sense has a special 
sense denoting a certain portion of a metrical line. In Dactylic 
verse one foot constitutes a metre of this kind, the dactylic 
hexameter having six feet ; in Trochaic, Iambic and Anapaestic 
two feet constitute a metre ; thus Iambic dimeter has four 
feet, as inar\sit aes\tuo\sius \. 

If a metre terminates in a hemimer, it is called catalectic 
or ' interrupted ' ; if it is completed, it is called acatalectic or 
' uninterrupted.' 

If the supposed or prescribed metre is redundant by a 
hemimer, the term hypercatalectic is applied. Two catalectic 
forms are so common that they are often called feet ; these are 
the choriambus or dactylic trihemimer ; as extiilP.\rds ||, which 
may be termed the dactylic dimeter catalectic ; and the creticus 
or trochaic trihemimer ; as eff^\runt j|, which may be termed the 
trochaic monometer catalectic. 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Dr 34 foil., cited 8, 25, 27, 28, 
32, 91, 121, 127, 132, 133, 168, 171 — 
175, 180—188, 196, 197, 199, 206, 
210 

accent 4 — 6, 9, 13, 30, 56; verbal, me- 
trical, emphatic 35 foil. ; in the verse 
of the ancients Pref. vii; in Ro- 
mance 294, 295 ; defect of accent, see 
Pyrrhic; excess, see Spondee; inver- 
sion, see Trochee. See Bridges, Skeat, 
hexameter 

adeste Jideles 155, 156 

aesthetic view of metre 3, 4, 47 foil. 

alcaic 139, 141, 144, 145 

Alexandrine, mistaken 27; in Shake- 
speare 44, 181, 183 foil., 189, 193 ; di- 
vided between speakers 183, with 
feminine caesura 185; in Tennyson 
212 ; in French 295 f. ; German 299 

amphibious section, see common 

amphibrach, is it used in English 
verse? 91 foil., may it be substituted 
for an iamb? 43, 45, 72 foil.; rhyth- 
mical not metrical 213 foil. See 
Skeat and hexam,eter 

anacrusis 8, 88 foil., 126, 127, 151, 156 

analysis, metrical, its use 2, elaborate 
of Mr A. J. Ellis 58 foil. 

anapaest 4, 32, 64, 70—75, 82—93, 98, 
100—102, 151, 152, exx. from Mr R. 
Bridges' dramas 107 foil., not recog- 
nized by Dr Skeat 114 foil., in Tenny- 
son 132—139, 211, in Surrey 160, 
Marlowe 165, Shakespeare 181 foil., 
190, 191, 201 foil., 207—209, Brown- 
ing 214, Shelley 223, 233, 234, in 
German poetry 301 f . ; anapaestic or 
dactylic? 133 foil. 

antibacchius 72, 73 

antispastus 194 



appoggiatura in Milton 23 
a-priorism, antiquarian 12 foil., logical 

34 foil. 
Arnold, M. cited 85, see hexameter 
Ashe, T. see hexameter 

bacchius, rhythmical 214, 216, 243 

Bain 91 

blank verse, how varied 9, 57 foil., see 
metamorphosis: of Surrey 157 foil., 
of Marlowe 162 foil., of Shakespeare 
168 — 205, of Tennyson and Brown- 
ing 206—218, of Shelley 224 foil., of 
Lessing and Schiller 299—301, Pref. 
viii 

Bowen, see hexameter 

Bridges, R. his account of Milton's 
prosody 96 — 104, his own system of 
prosody examined 103 foil. 

Browning, Mrs 216 

Browning, R. 91, 92, 208, 209, 214— 
218 

Brydges on metre 52 

Burns cited 87, 172 

Byron cited 57, 118, 120, 252 

caesura in hexameter 268, 269, 272, 
274, 278, 283, 284, 286, in old French 
294, in German 297—300; lyrical 
and epical 297. See hemistich and 
pause 

Calverley, see hexameter 

Chaucer, 12, 162, practises initial trun- 
cation 80, 160 

choriambus 194, 214, 216 

classical terminology defended 5 ; used 
for rhythmical effects 214 

Clough, see hexameter and elegiacs 

Coleridge 24, 83, 84, 90, 92, 260, 267, 
268, 273 



306 



INDEX. 



Collins 81 

common section 168—170, 188, 204 
Cowper 83 

cretic, is it used for iamb? 72, 73, 242, 
243; rythmical 214, 216 

dactyl, for iamb 44, 70, 71, 75, J)3, 131, 
166, 202, 211, 245; for trochee 127, 
143, 235; dactylic metre 85, 89—91, 
120, in Tennyson 139—143, in 
Hymn-book 151 

Dante 76, 298 

defective, distinguished from fragmen- 
tary lines 169—174, 204, 205 

Diez 297 

disyllabizatioii of monosyllables, legiti- 
mate and illegitimate 36 foil., 44, 
165, 172 foil., 183 

Dryden 17, 19 

elegiacs, Coleridge's 260, Tennyson's 
285, 291, Whewell's 291, Clough's 
292, W. Watson's 293 

elision 22, 73, 97, 98, 177, 192, wrongly 
marked in editions of Shakespeare 
178 foU. 

Ellis, A. J. objects to classical termin- 
ology and routihe scansion 5, 7 ; 
does not admit feminine caesura 21, 
190, 191; his metrical system 54 
foil., illustrated in original ex- 
amples 60 ; criticized 66 foil., 200 ; 
on Macbeth 187 foil. 

ending, unstopped (enjambement) 14, 
in Surrey 160, 161, in Tennyson 
214, in Shelley 224—227, Italian and 
German 298 — 301. See feminine 

Evans, R. W. cited 76 

extra- metrical syllable at the end of 
the line or the caesura 41, 42, 76; 
at the end often a monosyllable, in 
Shakespeare 199, in Tennyson 212, 
in German 299, 300. See feminine 
and hemistich 

feminine ending 8, 79; in Surrey 161, 
Marlowe 165, Shakespeare 174 — 176, 
196 — 199, in Eomance and German 
poetry 294—301 ; double 165, 199, 
200, 212. See hemistich 

Fleay on Shakespeare's use of the 
feminine ending 196 

Fletcher 30, 197 

foot, the basis of metre 7, 34, 54 foil., 
denied by Dr Skeat 112 

force, metrical 57, 58 

fragmentary lines in Surrey 161, in 
Shakespeare 168 foU., 188, 204, 
205 

French, old decasyllabic metre 294 f. 



Frere, see hexameter 

Gascoigne 162 

Gray's Elegy, Dr Skeat's scanning of, 

examined, 116, 117 
Guest, Dr 3, 12 foil., his calculation of 

the possible varieties of the heroic 

line 72; cited 160, 172, 200, 206, 

241, 271 

Hanmer, emendations of Shakespeare 
202, 204, 205 

Hawtrey, see hexameter 

Heber 139 

hemistich, extra syllaWe after (femi- 
nine caesura), admitted by Guest 21, 
Abbott 45, Keightley 77 ; denied by 
Ellis, 21, 190, 191; reasons in fa- 
vour of 200, 201 ; exx. Irora Macbeth 
after 2nd foot 175, after 3rd foot 
176 ; in Alexandrine 184 ; two extra 
syllables 201 

hendecasyllabic (trochaic) 144; iambic 
in Italian 298, in Latin Pref. viii 

hexameter, Elizabethan 260—266, 
Goldsmith on 266, foreign 263, 267, 
Coleridge's 260, 267, 268, 273, 287 
foil. , difference between English and 
Latin 268—270, 277, accentual v. 
quantitative 261, 264—266, 269, 270, 
Southey's 270—272, Frere's 273, 
Longfellow's 274, Whewell 275, 
Hawtrey 275, Clough 276—282, 289, 
Arnold 276, 281—283, Kingsley 270, 
283, 284, Tennyson's burlesque 285, 
Calverley 285, 286, Ashe 286, W. 
Watson 287, Stone 287—290 ; trun- 
cated, Bowen's 293 

Hood 90, 139 

hymn-book, metres classified 146 — 
156 

hypermetrical 95, see extra-metrical 

iamb for trochee 80, 128, 239; for 
anapaest, 91, 132 foil., 151, 152; for 
dactyl in hexameters 272, 275, 279, 
282 

iambic metre 4, how varied 9, 10, 60 
foil., see blank verse; subdivision 
of 128 foU., 147 foil., 221 foil. ; pass- 
ing into trochaic 81. See metre 

intuitivism 1 — 3, 47 — 53 

Italian iambic 298 ; imitated by Milton 
76 

Johnson, Dr 28, 47, 48, 52 
Jonson, Ben 16, 30 

Keats uses anacrusis in 4-foot trochaic 



INDEX. 



307 



Keightley on Milton 76 

Kingsley cited 86, 89 ; his hexameters 

270, 283 
Klopstock 267 

Leasing 299, 300 foil. 

limitation of metrical substitution 67 

foil. 
Longfellow, see hexameter 

Marlowe 10, 52, 81, 162—167 
Masson on Milton 71 foil., his scan- 
sion questioned 73 — 76 
measure ( = foot) 7, common 14, triple 

14 
metamorphosis, metrical 78 — 93, 138 

foil. See substitution 
metre, kinds of, classified 4, 8, 121 — 
156, general view of irregularities 
91; mixed 139—145, 152—156 
Meyer, P. on old French metre 295 
Milton, his metre condemned by Guest 
14 foil. ; he neglects final and middle 
pauses 15 ; does not use hypermetri- 
cal caesura 25 ; anapaestic lines in 
Havis. Ag. 32, 100—102, his use of 
trochee for iamb 38 — 40; Hymn of 
the Nativity 82, 83 ; mixed trochaic 
and iambic 4-foot 98 ; metrical analy- 
sis of 55, 64, 65, 207, 208; Masson 
and Keightley upon 71—77 ; R. 
Bridges on 96—106 
modern blank verse 206 — 218 
monosyllabic feet 130, erroneously ad- 
mitted by Dr Guest 20, 24—26, and 
disyllabized by Dr Abbott 36 foil. ; 
see truncation 
Morris, R. cited 81 
Morris, W. uses the scazou 80 
Munro Pref. vii, 268, 269, 285 
musical bars compared to metrical feet 
51 

Nicol, H. on old French metre 294, 

295 
normal line 9 

Paris, G. on old French metre 294 
pause, final, middle and sectional 13 
foil.; Swinburne 18; comparative 
view of pauses in Milton, Pope, 
Tennyson, Browning 16, 206 foil.; in 
Lessing and Schiller 300, 301, harsh 
in Surrey 160, Marlowe 166, Tenny- 
son 212, Browning 216, Shelley 224 
—229 
Pope neglects middle pause 17, uses 
sectional pause 18, trisyllabic feet 
23, 30, pyrrhic for iamb 31, admits 
sequence iamb-trochee 29; contrasted 



with Milton 19; emendations of 

Shakespeare 202—205 
pronunciation of proper names in 

Marlowe and Shakespeare 163 
prosody, use of 1, 3, 10, 50 
pyrrhic for iamb 30, 31, 35, 53, 70, 194 

reading of poetry not determined sole- 
ly by scansion 10, 49 foil., 213 foil., 
216 

Rush on accent 59 

Ruskin cited 6, 120 

scansion, objected to 2, 48 foil.; rou- 
tine 6; of Plautus 50; is only one 
element in the reading of poetry 53; 
question as to that of Dr Guest 22, 
23, 26, 27, of Dr Abbott 36 foil., Mr 
Symonds 51, Mr Masson 72 — 75, Mr 
Keightley 76, Dr Skeat 112 foil. 

scazon used by W. Morris 80, by 
Surrey, 159, see trochee 

Schiller 300, 301 

Schipper Knglische Metrik 13, 81, 266 

Scott 82, 84, 88, 89, 91 

scriptorial disguise 90, 94 

section of Anglo-Saxon inapplicable to 
modern verse 7, 13 foil. ; abrupt 20, 
pausing 20; of eight-foot trochaic 
125 ; see common, pause, hemistich 

Shakespeare, his pauses 15, 17; con- 
traction of two syllables into one 
22, 43; expansion of one into two 
36, 37, 172 foil.; use of spondee for 
iamb 39 ; trisyllabic feet 42, 43, 
182, 201 ; Alexandrines 44, 183, 189, 
202; feminine caesura, see hemi- 
stich; first folio, elisions in 178; 
Macbeth 168- 193, Hamlet 193—205 

Shelley cited 35, 80, 86, 88, use of 
alliteration 252 — 254, echoes of other 
poets 256, 257, unusual pronuncia- 
tion 247, negligent rhymes 255, cor- 
rupt text 220, suggested emenda- 
tions 247 -250, 257—259, his metre 
219—259. 

Sidgwick Pref. vi 

Skeat (ed. of Guest) cited 12, 24, 26, 
28; (of Chaucer) 80; his metrical 
system 112 — 120; recognises only 
one trisyllabic foot, the amphibrach 
118 

slurring 41, 44, 52, 53, 73, 97, 180— 
185, 192, Pref v 

Southey imitated by Shelley 256 ; Lo- 
dore 92, 93, his hexameters 270 — 
272 

spondee for iamb 28, 29, 39, 69, 72, 
117, 186, 207, 208, 241; for dactyl 
in hexameter 270 



308 



INDEX. 



Steele on metre 59 

Steevens 173, 202 

Stone, see hexameter 

stress, see accent 

substitution of one foot for another, 
67 — 71. See metamorphosis, inmb, 
trochee, &c. 

Surrey 51, 157—162 

Swinburne, lieroic line containing four 
anapaests 70; pause after 1st sylla- 
ble 18, 19, after 7th 209; truncated 
anapaests 85, his anapaests mistaken 
for dactyls 292, 293 

symbols, metrical 94 

Symonds 4, 47—53, 156 

Tennyson, his metres classified 121 — 
145 ; fondness for trisyllabic metres 
134; his blank verse analyzed 208 — 
214; compared with Browning 209; 
uses dactyl, anapaest, and tribrach 
for iamb 44, 131, 208—212 ; trochee 
for iamb 40, 131, 208, 210, 214; 
example of iambic line made up of 
5 trochees 210; monosyllabic feet, 
initial in 4-foot iambic 81, 82, 129, 
in 6-foot iambic 142, in anapaestic 
134 — 139 ; internal in anapaestic 
132, 134, 137, in trochaic 125, in 
iambic 142, 143; final in trochaic 
121 foil. ; iamb for trochee 80, 128 ; 
pauses 16, 208 foil.; anacrusis 88, 
122 ; feminine ending 190 ; feminine 
caesura in 6- foot anapaest 142 ; fem- 
inine rhythm 210; final anapaest 
211; Ardeii 208, Balin 208, Boa- 
dicea 143, Cauteretz 124, 126, Garde- 
ner's D. 17, 208, Gareth 208, Harold 
211, Lucknow 138, Lucretius 208, 
Maud 136, May Queen 141, (Eiione 
208, Oldcastle 208, Princess 210, 



Revenge 135, Sea-Fairies 132, Sisters 
208, Victim 138, 143, Vision of Sin 
127, Wellington 126, 140 

Thelwall 23 

Todd 52 

tribrach for iamb 72, 75, 212, Pref. v 

trisyllabic feet in iambic metre ques- 
tioned by Guest 22 foil., and Abbott 
43, defended by Skeat 24. See ana- 
paest, dactyl, tribrach, R. Bridges 

trochee 4; in 5-foot iambic, initial 26, 
38, internal 38, 52, 60 foil, 72, 91, 
186, 187, final 32, 65, 80, 159, 160, 
186, 195, 210, 237, doubled in Miltou 
24, 25, 38, 76, Spenser 40, Tennyson 
40, 210, Browning 214; limit of 
trochaic substitution 68 foil., cf. 210. 
Trochaic metres 121—128, 150 

truncation 9 ; final of trochee 79, 121 
foil., of dactyl 85, 139, 151; initial 
of iamb 13 (Chaucer), 80—83, 130, 
131, 162 foil. (Marlowe), 108, 109, 
of anapaest 84, 133; internal 87, 
88, 121, 132, 134, 142. See mono- 
syllabic 

Tyrwhitt 23 

unstopped line, see ending 

variety, how obtained 9, 10, 56 foil., 
206 foil. See metamorphosis 

Wagner 50, 172 

Walker 172 

Watson, W., see hexameter 

weight, metrical 58 — 63, 67 

Whewell, see elegiacs and hexameter 

Wolfe, Burial of Sir J. Moore 84, 119 

Zarncke on the origin of the 5-foot 
iambic 296 foil., Pref. viii 



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